Yesterday's Tomorrow
by Mother Nature's Daughter
Summary: Overused but amusing: Hermione gets stuck in Marauder Era Hogwarts. In her struggle to get back home, she grows closer to people not of her Time. And in the present, memories from his youth are suddenly hitting Remus Lupin that he didn't have before. FIN!
1. Prologue

**Author's Note:** Well how do you do, y'all? Thanks for dropping by to give my humble short story a peek! There are four things you should know before you read anything else, if you don't mind.

**One**—this story IS FINISHED! Meaning, I have written it all before posting, and will be updating frequently; you need not worry about this story being abandoned. 

**Two—**it's not a super long story; quite the contrary, actually: thirteen chapters, plus the prologue and epilogue. That being said…

**Three—**this was a fic written because of a little plot bunny that hopped across my path one day and seemed too fun to pass up. While writing this fic, I realized there was a lot you can do with the whole time travel idea (as I'm sure has been done before, anyway); and that you can really go into some detail and make an interesting plot out of it. But I know how common these kinds of fics are, so I figure I shouldn't bother making mine complicated. Instead, it's all fun and fluff—my favourite!

Last but not least, **four—**my author's notes will not always be this long, don't worry.

**Disclaimer:** The _Harry Potter_ series and characters belong to J.K. Rowling. 'Nuff said.

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**Prologue**

Time itself is a very complicated thing, and strange; but Time traveling is far more dangerous than mere Time: one can easily get caught up in Its hold, trapped, confused, stuck in a Time and place that is not their own. Many people, Wizards and Witches alike, have discovered the hard way that which Time can do; some have died because of their meddling in Time…others, have faced consequences far worse than death.

But it is said by those who have come to learn the ways of Time that all one needs to do to make traveling through Time easy is to make sure you never take it lightly; for Time is a very serious thing, and more powerful than any Wizard. But if Time is treated with caution, than one can find that traveling through It to be a rather remarkable experience.

But for those who regard Time simply, and act upon the things to come and the things that passed rashly, terrible things await. Should one go back and change something that has happened, they will find themselves taking a large risk perhaps not worth what they are trying to change. Does everything happen for a reason? Maybe yes and maybe no, but if you change something that was supposed to happen and did not, you may find yourself in a whole heap of a lot of trouble.

And that is precisely what a young Witch, Hermione Granger, found herself in one day while Time Traveling: a lot of trouble. And if she is to get out of the tangled web she has caught herself in, she must not act rashly, and keep in mind all that she has learned. Time decides to take her on a bumpy adventure ride, and if she is not careful, she too, like many Witches before her, will discover the horrors that Time can do to those in the past, the present, and the future.

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**COMING NEXT TIME!**

Will we actually get a decent-length chapter instead of this strange rambling thing? What will happen to Hermione? Is anybody interested in beta-ing this story? And will anyone review? ;)

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**Next update:** Expect it sometime next week; Wednesday the 26th, maybe. _Cheers!_


	2. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **Let's not waste time doing this, eh?

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**Chapter One**

Hermione Granger had forgotten what it felt like to have energy; recently, she could never find peace and quiet, thanks to all of the homework and classwork she had. She was so tired and beat all the time, she was beginning to feel like a rubber band that had been stretched too far and was getting ready to snap; or like a small bit of butter trying to spread itself thin to cover an entire loaf of bread. It was killing her.

Of course, it would be worth it in the end: she refused to believe she was in over her head; her best friends, Ron Weasley and Harry Potter, keep telling her that she was, and that perhaps maybe she should drop a few of her classes? But she would hear none of it. If it was possible to take them all, then she would take them all: and, as she had been told on the first day of term, it _was_ possible. All she needed was more Time.

All the teachers trusted Hermione Granger with the great responsibility of Time. No doubt she was young, but she was _smart_. Not to mention very trust-worthy; no one had to worry about Hermione suddenly getting a wild idea and go traveling back thousands of years in the past, or a thousand years into the future—she would use her Time Turner for educational purposes only.

But even with the Time Turner, Hermione found she still didn't have enough Time. She was working always, finishing up a paper for this class, and then twisting the Turner's dial back to go to another class and get assigned another paper. She hardly ever had Time for her friends or for fun, or—and this perhaps was the one having the most affect on her…_sleep._ She got so very little of that now, and in consequence she always felt tired.

Today was no different than any other: exhausted, barely able to keep her lead-like eyelids up, Hermione left Ron and Harry in the Gryffindor common room and dragged herself outside one sunny spring day and collapsed in the grass near a tree where she could rest undisturbed. Immediately, she rested her back against the tree's trunk comfortably and closed her eyes. She had already been to Transfigurations and Charms today, and had double Potions to look forward to in an hour or so. But in that hour before Potions, Hermione had every intention of sleeping. She couldn't write one more answer on one more paper; she was just too exhausted.

Unsurprisingly, she was asleep almost before her eyes closed. Hermione dreamed of pleasant things, of springtime and of her friends, of catching up with all her work and still having Time enough to do whatever pleased her; she dreamed of reading (she had not done that for pleasure in such a long while), reading a book so good you could not put in down before you read it to the very last page. Perhaps it was because her dreams were so pleasant or her mind and body were so tired that Hermione slept for longer than hour, longer than two or even three; and in this time none came to wake her.

-xXx-

The bright spring sunshine warmed her face and body as she slept, and from the moment Hermione's brown eyes opened again, she was feeling wonderful and refreshed. Her nap had been so effective, she knew she could take on an entire term's worth of Potions papers at the moment. Speaking of Potions…

Failing to fight back a large yawn, Hermione lazily checked her watch, expecting to see she had plenty of time to get to her class—but wait. The yawn in her mouth died instantly and was released as a large exhale of breath, and the newly refreshed brown eyes widened in panic. She had missed all of Potions!

It was all too tempting to just forget that class and gather her stuff up for the next one—if she hurried, she could just catch Ron and Harry in time to get to Herbology. But the perfectionist in Hermione wouldn't allow for her to miss even one of her classes, even ones she did not particularly like. That, and imagining the look in Professor Snape's eyes when she next saw him…The anger coming off him at her skipping his class, even if it was imaginary for the moment, was enough to make Hermione shudder. Yes, it was probably best she try to make that class.

Hermione couldn't find her Time Turner in her bag. She turned it upside down in a slight panic, dumping out all its contents and searching desperately for the small golden chain among them—but a thorough search proved it was not there. Heart thudding now, stomach in knots, Hermione could get no closer to the brick of panic when…

She felt the Time Turner around her neck. "Oh, thank God," she whispered to herself in a large sigh of relief. It probably hadn't been the smartest idea, sleeping with her Time Turner on (what if she'd rolled over and smashed it in her sleep?), but other than what could have been a small crack near the dial but what was most likely Hermione's imagination, it was completely fine. So she quickly stuffed her wand and her Potions things back into her bag and turned the dial back to before Potions had even begun.

But somewhere between when her surroundings started to spin and when they should have stopped, Hermione felt something go wrong. She had been traveling normally at first, when suddenly she felt like she was being dragged away, farther and farther—it was as if a great black hole had appeared where the ground under her feet had been, and she was falling, faster and faster, back before her Potions class had begun, back before this day had begun, or even this week, this month—_this year_? She was struggling now, begging Time to let her go: where was It taking her? She could end up in the middle ages, or in prehistoric times, or anywhere!

Her mouth opened in a sort of silent scream, and she shouted out for help, but all sound was lost in the ride of Time. And then, just as suddenly as it had begun, Hermione felt solid ground beneath her and she fell to her knees as if dropped from a great height. Breathing heavily, terrified, she looked up cautiously to examine her surroundings. What she saw was not what she expected.

At first, the familiar site of Hogwarts was enough to make Hermione sigh in relief. Everything was just as it had been before she settled down to take her nap, with only one notable difference: it had been early morning in spring when Hermione had turned her dial, but here it looked like night was nearly here, and it was cold; freshly fallen snow covered the ground. Hermione shivered, trying to get her thoughts back in order.

"Okay," she panted, talking to herself. It was usually a sign that she was thinking hard. "You can't have gone back too far." She knew where she was, so it was possible she hadn't even gone back an entire year; all Hermione needed to find out was what day and month it was, and then she could get right back to that Potions class. So, checking to make sure her bag and wand were safe, and they were, Hermione set off to find someone that could help her out.

-xXx-

She saw just a person merely a few minutes later, when she spotted two boys about her age standing near the entrance to the castle, laughing at something one of them had just said. Hermione's heart soared when she saw she recognized one of them. She grinned happily, and gave a shout of delight.

"_Harry_!" She ran towards him, with every intention of throwing her arms around him in a hug. "Oh, Harry, thank goodness! I was so afraid I was lost in some other tim—" She stopped short just then, and froze before she could get close enough to touch him, because the boy looking at her now, eyebrows raised high in confusion, was not Harry Potter.

"No," the boy said, "my name isn't Harry. I'm James Potter." He smiled in a friendly sort of way, as if he were about to shake her hand, but didn't. Hermione felt her own smile disappear, and the panic in her stomach returned, fiercer this time.

"S-sorry," Hermione stammered past the lump in her throat; she wondered if she was getting ready to cry. She did that a lot when she was this scared. "I thought you were—someone else…"

"That's a bit obvious, isn't it?" James teased, grinning widely. The boy beside him laughed, and for the first time, Hermione shifted her gaze to look at him. Her eyes widened in surprise, because the moment she saw him, she knew just who he was.

There, standing a few feet in front of her, was Sirius Black. His skin didn't wear the grey tinge it had when she'd last seen him, and he didn't look as malnourished. His hair was shorter, but just as unkempt—there was no mistaking the former (or would it be future?) prisoner of Azkaban.

Sirius caught her looking at him and smiled in that same friendly way that James had. "Sirius Black," he said, raising his hand in a sort of small wave. "And you are…?"

"Hermione Granger," she supplied, horrified to hear the way her voice croaked in nervousness. She shifted her bag to the other shoulder and offered both boys a small, weak smile. "Sorry," she said again, "I'll just be—"

"Well, Hermione Granger," James said before she could go on; "I just _have_ to say, that's an interesting choice of jewelry you're wearing there." He pointed to her chest and laughed, not really in a mean way, but more in a jesting manner. Hermione glanced down at the front of her robes, feeling as she did the all too familiar sickness rise up from her stomach and into her chest. She gasped.

The thin, golden chain that was her Time Turner looked like it had exploded. The small dial was charred and black, as was the bit of chain nearest it. It was a wonder it was still in one piece around her neck, and had not broke and fallen off—was she here because it really had broken while she slept? One thing was for certain; whatever had happened to it, there was no way it would be able to take her back where she had come from now.

"Excuse me," she said, sounding even to her own ears breathless and frightened. She was going to go on, but had forgotten what she'd wanted to say. She pulled out her wand and muttered the charm to repair her Time Turner, but nothing happened.

Hermione bit her lip. Her brain felt like there wear gears inside it, spinning around rapidly, as if working in overdrive. After just a second, but what seemed like so much longer to Hermione, the gears produced an idea. "Dumbledore!" she shouted suddenly, and both James and Sirius seemed to draw back at her outburst.

"The headmaster," James said slowly, looking as if he was speaking to a very dumb person. "Dumbledore's the headmaster."

"Yes, I know." She still sounded breathless, but at this point she didn't care. "Please, can you take me to him? _Please_? It's very important."

James and Sirius exchanged thoughtful glances. Finally, James said, "all right, yeah. We'll take you to Professor McGonagall. She can take you to Dumbledore."

Hermione sighed in relief and grinned at them. "Thank you." James and Sirius just shrugged a no problem, and motioned for her to follow them inside the castle. The three companions walked the first few hallways in silence, until Sirius, looking like he couldn't stand the lack of noise, spoke up.

"So Hermione—what house are you in?"

"Gryffindor," she replied automatically, not even considering how hard it could end up being to explain that later. She was just in a hurry to reach Dumbledore, because if anyone could get her out of this, it would be him.

Sirius and James, however, stopped walking and turned to look at her. "So are we," James said, looking at her as if in a new light. "Third year."

"Same," Hermione responded, smiling. Her two companions looked dumfounded. James was still studying her intensely, as if waiting for himself to suddenly recognize her. Sirius hummed thoughtfully.

"Don't know how we never met you before," he said, "are you some sort of an exchange student, or something?"

"Not really." Hermione was feeling the nervousness come back again. She really, really needed to get to Dumbledore tonight, and it already felt late. "Can we just go find the headmaster?" she asked desperately, nearly begging. "I'm hoping he can explain it."

"Oh, right." James shook his head, clearing it, and started walking forward again. "This way." They continued on, all three of them side by side, and a few minutes later James was knocking on the door Hermione knew was Professor McGonagall's office. She held her breath; half afraid the Transfiguration teacher would not be in there. But she worried in vain, because a few seconds after James called for her, the professor opened the door.

"Why, Potter," she said, "Black." Her entire manner showed her surprise at seeing them at her door this late at night. She looked even more confused when she spotted Hermione, standing a bit behind her two male companions, suddenly feeling very shy. "Who in the world…?" she began, but was cut off by James.

"Sorry to bother you, Professor McGonagall," he said. "But we have a friend here,"—he gestured to Hermione—"that is asking to speak to Professor Dumbledore as soon as possible. She says it's very urgent."

Hermione almost felt bad for the Transfiguration teacher, there in the doorway to her office; with a young girl she had never met or even seen before standing in front of her asking desperately to see the headmaster. It was enough to disgruntle the best of them.

"I—uh—yes, all right." Professor McGonagall sighed and stepped all the way from the room, closing the door behind her. "Dear, if you would come with me." She placed a comforting hand on Hermione's shoulder and began to lead her away, pausing only to fix the two boys with a fierce glare. "Potter, Black," she said harshly, "back to your common room immediately."

Loud groans issued from each young Wizard. Like any other teenagers would be, they were deeply curious about other people's business. Whining and begging would not change their teacher's mind, however, and so instead Sirius just called out to Hermione before she was out of earshot, "we want to know everything when you get back!"

Professor McGonagall issued another stony stare in their direction, and with sheepish grins and a mischievous gleam in their eyes, both of them turned and darted back the way they had come. When they had gone, she looked at Hermione kindly. "What's your name, dear?"

"Hermione Granger."

"Well, I don't know what any of this is about," said the professor, "but you can explain everything to Dumbledore when we get there, and we'll see what we can do about helping you out, shall we?" Hermione nodded gratefully, and they continued on to Dumbledore's office.

-xXx-

They reached the gargoyle that hid the headmaster's office in no time at all, and Professor McGonagall cleared her throat loudly and said, "_Lemon drops_." A door immediately swung open away from what had appeared to be solid wall.

"This way, dear," McGonagall said, and Hermione's heart did nervous skips in her chest the nearer they got to Dumbledore's office. She was having extreme difficulty drawing a deep breath; instead air entered her lungs in quick, hiccuping gasps. Professor McGonagall, apparently taking no notice of Hermione's nervousness, knocked loudly on a door.

"Come in," the clear voice of Albus Dumbledore said from the other side. The professor smiled again at Hermione and entered before her, apologizing to Dumbledore for the intrusion this late at night. The headmaster smiled.

"No worries, Minerva, you've intruded on nothing," he said warmly. He spotted Hermione and only looked mildly surprised when he asked, "and who is this?"

"This is Hermione Granger," Professor McGonagall said. "James Potter and Sirius Black brought her to my office. She wants a word with you, Headmaster."

"Then she shall get a word." Dumbledore smiled kindly again, and spread his arms out in welcome. "Please, sit down," he said, and Hermione sat down in a chair opposite him on the other side of the desk. The headmaster's sparkling blue eyes and waist-length white beard immediately made Hermione feel more at ease.

Professor McGonagall, apparently just as curious as Sirius and James had been, stood off in a corner of the office instead of leaving, and watched in silence as Dumbledore leaned forward over his desk. "What can I do for you, Miss Granger?" he asked casually.

"Please, sir," Hermione said, wondering where to begin. "I need your help. Umm, I'm a third year student at Hogwarts—some twenty-five years from now…" Professor McGonagall made a noise of untold surprise, but Dumbledore hardly flinched. Shakily, Hermione removed the ruined Time Turner from around her neck and handed it over the desk to the headmaster. "Today, while I was trying to go back to my Potions class, some—something…happened. And instead of stopping a few hours before, I ended up here."

"Remarkable," Dumbledore said quietly, studying the Time Turner through his spectacles. "Well, Miss Granger, we do have a problem. But I think the situation can be fixed." Hermione had barely begun to sigh in relief when he continued: "but I'm afraid your Time Turner cannot. I've never seen anything like this. It is indeed completely ruined."

He set the object back down and looked at her. "I regret to say I have no Time Turners in my possession now. However, it is very late and I am sure you're very tired after the day you've had. You may stay here tonight, and we'll deal with this in the morning, when we've all had a night to come up with a solution."

Hermione's hopes deflated—she would be stuck here until tomorrow? Dumbledore, however, didn't look the least bit worried. Instead, he told her, "Minerva will make sure you are settled comfortably in the Gryffindor common room for the night. You don't mind if she sleeps there for the moment, Professor McGonagall?"

"Not at all," the Transfigurations teacher replied, coming out of the corner and standing over Hermione protectively. "Come with me, Miss Granger. Good night, headmaster," she added as they got up to leave.

"Good night, Minerva," Dumbledore replied; "sleep well, Hermione."

Hermione scoffed quietly, so the teacher at her side wouldn't notice. _'Sleep well'? _She wondered if Dumbledore could possibly serious. How could someone in her situation be expected to go to sleep at all, let alone sleep peacefully? It would be a very long night, Hermione knew. She was already missing her friends terribly. What would they think when they couldn't find her the next morning?

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**COMING NEXT TIME!**

Will Hermione be able to get any sleep? Will she meet up with Sirius and James again? What about Peter and Remus? And what's up with being stuck in Time, eh?

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**SHOUT-OUTS!**

**allycat1186: **Hey! Thanks for reviewing! I'm glad that you're interested; hope this chapter pleases you. :) Oh, and I almost forgot; cookies to you for being my very first reviewer! Thanks again!

**SteffieGee: **Yeah, I love Time Traveling fics, haha. They're pretty cliche, aren't they, though? I hope mine can be a little different. And Remus/Hermione's a cute ship, in Time Traveling fics. And yes, I hope you do leave another review! ;)

**People who've read and alerted but not review: **Thanks for reading, guys, and thanks so much for the story alert! I hope you end your silence though; I'd love to know what you think. :p

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**Next update: **Hmm. How about sometime around Monday (the 30th)? Sound good?


	3. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** Na na na, na na na…

**A/N:** Didn't update yesterday. So am updating today. Oh, and happy 1st, April to everyone; APRIL FOOL'S! A holiday made for the Weasley twins, don't you know? :)

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**Chapter Two**

Hermione had been right; even though Professor McGonagall accompanied her to the girl's dormitories in Gryffindor Tower and settled her comfortably in one the empty beds (turns out, it was Christmas break at Hogwarts and most students had gone home for the holidays), Hermione could not fall asleep. Her surroundings were familiar and comforting; the calm, even breathing of the only other girl in the dorm was a nice interruption in the otherwise silent night—but her eyes refused to close.

And so she laid awake all night, staring up in the darkness, thinking about everything and everyone she knew and loved and might not ever see again—Ron, Harry, her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and their whole crew…and so many others at Hogwarts. Fortunately, the night Hermione thought would feel endless passed quickly—before she knew it, her roommate was stirring and waking, yawning delicately and looking around at her surroundings.

That was when she spotted Hermione, who had just sat up herself and was attempting to smooth some of the wrinkles out her clothes (she was still in the same attire she had been wearing yesterday); she gave a small start, and though she didn't scream or shriek, she was certainly startled.

"Who are _you_?" she asked sharply. Her green eyes were narrowed as she looked intensely at the intruder in her room. Hermione couldn't blame her; the other girl had been asleep when McGonagall brought her up here last night, and neither saw the point in waking her. "What are you doing here?" she demanded to know next.

"I'm Hermione Granger," Hermione said calmly, offering the other girl a smile to show she was harmless enough. "I got in a spot of trouble yesterday, and Professor Dumbledore has placed me in Gryffindor Tower until a solution can be found." Short and brief, just enough to let the other girl know it was okay that she was up here.

The other girl's eyes softened, and she smiled; she was very pretty, with intensely green eyes and the flaming red hair that could easily have made her a Weasley. It seemed to frame her face on both sides delicately, even though she had just woken up and it was untidy and uncombed. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Hermione," she said, "I'm Lily Evans."

Hermione would have known that even if she had not just told her; looking into Lily's eyes again, Hermione was pleasurably reminded of Harry. It was rather exciting, and not to mention a little mind-blowing, to be sitting here having a chat with his mum.

Lily yawned and stretched her arms above her head. "Well," she told Hermione, "I for one am starving; would you like to come down with me and get some breakfast in the Hall?"

"That would be wonderful." Personally, Hermione's own stomach had been growling since dawn. The two girls quickly got up and got dressed; Lily kindly lent Hermione some of the necessities she would need to get ready. Lily was a bit smaller than she was, but the robes fit well enough.

"So are you a student here, Hermione?" Lily asked as they bounded down the stairs a few minutes later, their hearts set on food; they could smell the delicious scent of it even from here.

"Er…sort of," Hermione said.

Lily laughed. "How can you 'sort of' be a student here? Are you a transfer?"

"That's exactly what Sirius Black said yesterday," Hermione said, just trying to change the subject. She didn't want to have to explain her Time travel predicament again. She had, however, underestimated the effect her words would have on Lily.

"Black?" she repeated, as if it were some sort of terrible disease she would catch if she said it too carelessly. She curled her lips. "Do you actually talk to them?"

"I met him and James Potter yesterday," Hermione said, not really understanding what was wrong with she'd said; but she had barely gotten out her sentence before Lily sneered again.

"Potter and his friends are just so frustrating!" she said shrilly. "_Especially_ Potter and Black. Remus and Peter aren't so bad, though…. But still, I don't know how you could tolerate any of them for long," she said, and Hermione got the distinct impression Lily's opinion of her had just dropped a little in the past few seconds. Fortunately, she was saved from saying anything else because they had just entered the Great Hall, and the conversation was abandoned in exchange for stuffing themselves full of food.

-xXx-

When Hermione had eaten her fill, she leaned back comfortably and sighed. She was sitting beside Lily at the Gryffindor table, and all the way on the opposite end she could just see Sirius and James with their other friends. They hadn't spoken to her since she'd arrived, nor she to them; perhaps it was because they hadn't noticed her, or maybe they felt they'd helped her out and now they could be done with her. Either way, she would have been feeling helplessly lonely if it weren't for Lily Evans.

"Oh, Hermione, come over here with me," Lily said suddenly, pushing back her plate to show that she too was done. "My friend Sev's sitting over there at the Slytherin table; I'd like you to meet him." She grabbed Hermione's arm and dragged her off towards another table in the hall.

"Sev?" Hermione repeated; "who's Sev?" But her question was answered immediately when Lily stopped before a hooked nosed, pale looking boy with black greasy hair. Hermione actually felt her jaw drop when he turned around to greet Lily, and quickly she tried to pass it off as a feeble yawn.

Lily had seemingly noticed nothing, and just happily introduced them: "Sev, this is Hermione Granger. She's a transfer. Hermione, this is my good friend Severus Snape." Hermione had known this as soon as she saw him, but hearing the words aloud was still a shock; she coughed awkwardly and gave him a weak smile.

Snape did nothing more than nod curtly at her. Hermione felt a nervous knot form in her stomach; why was Lily friends with Snape? Why did she have such a low opinion of James and his friends (especially when she would end up married to him)? Surely it wasn't her fault; she hadn't been here long enough to change anything, had she? Besides, what could she have done to change something like that?

Since Lily and Snape were now engaged in a conversation of their own, Hermione took it as sign that, if she suddenly left, they wouldn't find it rude. And, after all, she really needed to go see Dumbledore about getting her back home—especially if she really was changing history. So she quickly said good-bye to Lily and promised to find her later, before setting off to find Professor McGonagall to take her back to Dumbledore's office.

Someone else found her first, however. Just as Hermione was exiting the Hall, she ran right into James and Sirius, accompanied also by two other boys of the same age. "Hermione!" James said, standing in front of her so she couldn't duck past him. He was wearing that same goofy smile he had worn yesterday. "Where're you off to?"

"I have to go see Dumbledore," she said, trying not to sound rude but wishing to communicate that she was in a hurry. "And I really have to find him soon, so—"

"Off to see Dumbledore _again_?" Sirius said, his own jesting smile exposing a large set of pearly white teeth. He shook his head. "You have to meet the rest of gang first, at least." He pointed to a tiny, nervous looking boy; he had large front teeth and looked like he was twitching. "This is Peter Pettigrew," he said, shoving him in the shoulder playfully. Hermione bristled, thinking of the betrayal going to occur between the two in some years' Time—that Peter would actually join Voldemort, and betray all the others!

"And _this_ charming young man here"—Sirius threw his arm over the shoulders of a wild-haired boy with his nose in a book—"is Remus Lupin. Say hi, Moony, we have company."

Lupin looked up from his book and gave Hermione a shy smile. "Hi," he said quietly. Hermione smiled back and wiggled her fingers in a silent greeting. Just like everything else here, she found it awkward meeting her future Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher.

"Moony, Wormtail, this is Hermione Granger," James continued the introductions where Sirius had left off. He gestured to her with mock gallantry. "The third year that isn't a transfer and yet we've never seen her here before."

Hermione forced herself to smile again, past James' teasing. "Pleasure," she said to them all, "but I honestly don't have time for any of this. I really must be going. I'll see you all later, then." And she shouldered past James and sprinted up the stairs.

Luck was with her this Time, because she had hardly left the four boys behind when she spotted Professor McGonagall heading towards the hallway in her direction. "Why, hello, Miss Granger," she said; "I was just off to come find you. Professor Dumbledore would like a word."

"That's just where I was going," Hermione replied. "I can't wait to hear how he's going to get me back—I'm really anxious to get home."

"Well, dear," the professor beside her said, sounding uncomfortable; "Dumbledore can explain everything when we get there." She tried smiling at Hermione in a reassuring way, but Hermione thought it looked very forced; and her eyes were dark and worrisome.

-xXx-

Dumbledore seemed to have been waiting for them when they entered his office. They hadn't even had time to knock when he opened the door and ushered them, gesturing for them to have a seat and offering them a lemon drop. McGonagall turned the candy down, but Hermione accepted and sat sucking on it as Dumbledore addressed them.

"I'm going to work immediately on getting another Time Turner. But spares are rare, especially if you are expecting never to get them back—as is the case with you, Miss Granger. Hopefully, you will not be traveling back here to return your Time Turner once you have returned to your Time." He smiled warmly at her, but Hermione noticed that same fearful look in his eyes that she had in the Professor's.

"It may take awhile to find one," he said simply, "so in the meantime you will stay here as one of the students, sleeping in the Gryffindor Tower and eating meals with the others like you did today. Make yourself as comfortable as possible; make yourself at home. I don't know how long it'll take to get you back home."

Hermione wanted to choke on her lemon drop with each word he said—hard to find spares—may take awhile—make yourself at home—what was he thinking? Dumbledore was supposed to have the resources to transport her back at once!

Professor McGonagall had started patting Hermione's shoulder comfortably, but she hardly noticed. Dumbledore was speaking again, and she hung on his every word, the lemon drop completely forgotten where it lay dissolving on her tongue.

"I do have one other hope, but it is that of a fool—and out of my hands." Dumbledore looked up, wearing an expression too complex for Hermione to read. "People you know would certainly have noticed your absence, and with any luck will have figured out where you have gone. Thus they will be working from their side of Time to get you back even as we work on ours. They may be able to reach a solution quicker than we are, and be able to get you back. But that is but a hope, and we can't rely on that. We must take actions ourselves, as I have already explained to you."

He looked Hermione right in the eyes, blue meeting brown for a long time. "I'm sorry I cannot do more," he said sincerely.

"No—" Hermione said, shaking her head at his apology. "No, it's not your fault. Umm, thank you, Professor." She stood up and shook his hand; it was a weird thing to do, but she felt it was right. "Well, if you'll excuse me, I think I'll just go for a little fresh air now, okay? Think all this over." She smiled weakly, and when no one else made any sort of move, exited the room quickly with a barely audible "bye".

-xXx-

"Oi! Hermione!"

Hermione hadn't even been walking alone for two minutes after leaving Dumbledore when she heard the by now familiar voice calling her name. Turning, she was hardly surprised to see James and Sirius, with Lupin and Peter behind them, coming down the stairs, running over to her.

"You done talkin' to Dumbledore for awhile?" Sirius asked her when they had gotten close enough to talk without shouting.

"Yes," was all Hermione found herself able to say. She didn't really want to think about the bad news Dumbledore had just given to her. She noticed all four of them looking at her expectantly. "What?" she asked sharply.

"_Well_?" James said, "what happened?"

Hermione sighed. Now she knew what Lily meant when she said he was frustrating. "Nothing," she said, "I just needed his help with something, that's all."

"Help with what?"

She narrowed her eyes at their persistence. She wondered if she should tell them the truth; 'yeah, I come from the future and accidentally sent myself here'. It sounded so absurd. _Just the sort of story they'd like,_ Hermione thought wryly. "All right, you really want to know?"

"Rhetorical question," Sirius replied.

"Okay. I'll tell you all outside—I'm feeling sort of stuffy in here. Let's go." Hermione set off with the curious James and Sirius and the silent Remus and Peter behind them. When she had found a nice spot under a tree bare of snow, she settled down with her back against the truck; James, Sirius and Peter all ended up sitting in front of her, like an audience, with Remus by her side on her left.

"All right," Hermione began dramatically, figuring she would probably enjoy this. "I am a third year Gryffindor. Years from now, when you four are adults and old enough to have children of your own." She kept it blunt, because she figured their surprise would be more humourous that way. And she was, of course, correct.

Peter's eyes bugged out. "Really?"

"Oh, yes," Hermione said. "Yesterday I missed one of my classes, and used my Time Turner to go back to the beginning of it. But it went wrong—I think it was because I fell asleep with it on—and I ended up in this Time instead."

"Blimey," Remus Lupin said, rather surprising Hermione because he hadn't said two words to her since they had met. "Is that what you went to Dumbledore for? To help send you back?"

"Uh-huh." Hermione nodded. "Except my Time Turner's broken beyond repair. And he doesn't know how long it'll take to find another one." She felt a twinge of worry when she said the words out loud, but she forcefully pushed the feeling aside and ignored it.

Sirius was laughing, finding this all great fun. "So you're stuck here?" he choked out, as if it was the most hilarious thing in the world. Hermione looked slightly annoyed.

"Yes," she said shortly.

"Oh, man, that's awesome!" James said, his laughter almost as loud as Sirius'. "I mean, how many other kids do you know that get themselves stuck in Time?" Said as if were a great accomplishment. Her annoyance grew, but before Hermione could say anything, she received unexpected defense.

"Shut it, Prongs," Lupin said, almost fiercely. "You too, Padfoot. Honestly, how can you treat this like a _joke_? Hermione is stuck here, unable to get back to her own Time, to her own life and friends. And you're _laughing_?"

James and Sirius looked at each other in shock. Hermione guessed Lupin didn't scold them often. "Okay, Moony, we're sorry," James said. "It was just funny, that's all." Lupin rolled his eyes, and Hermione was oddly touched at his sticking up for her.

"Thanks, Pr—Remus," she said, and when he smiled at her, she could feel her cheeks stretching as wide as they could as she returned the gesture.

After that, tension between the five seemed to melt away. James and Sirius—and even Peter, for that matter—weren't done questioning her, and though they were careful not to take it too lightly anymore, they were still fascinated. Hermione told them as much as she could until they were satisfied; though when the conversation topic turned away from her experience, she had a distinct feeling it wouldn't stay away for long.

"Look at Snivellus over there, Prongs," Sirius suddenly said, pointing across the yard to where Snape was leaning against a different tree reading alone. Lily was nowhere in sight. "What do you say we go have some fun?" He had stood up and was grinning widely now, as was his best friend.

"I'm in," James said immediately; "I just learnt the coolest new charm, and I've been dying to test it out…" He stood up beside Sirius and looked down at Hermione, Lupin and Peter. "Who wants to come watch?"

Peter automatically stood up and glued himself to James' side. Lupin and Hermione, however, shook their heads. "You go on," Remus said. "I'm not going to be a part of that again."

"I'm disappointed in you, Moony," James said, grinning teasingly.

"Who taught you to be such a good boy, anyway?" Sirius said, shaking his head as if he too were disappointed. "How about you, Hermione?"

She shook her head again. "No thanks."

James sighed. "You too, huh? Oh, well. Suit yourselves." And he left with Sirius and Peter in Snape's direction, wands ready. Hermione watched them go with an astounded expression on her face.

"Do they tease him often?" she asked incredulously. Lupin made a sound close to a snort, like a humourless laugh.

"All the time," he said casually.

"But that's so _mean_!"

Lupin shrugged, pulling a book that looked like it had been handled many times out of his bag and opening it. Without looking up from its pages, he said, "It's not that they're bad kids, Padfoot and Prongs. They're not _evil_, exactly…they just like to cause mischief, and have a bit of fun. Unfortunately, it's often at the expense of others."

"Yeah, I know the type," Hermione muttered, more to herself than to the boy beside her. She thought wistfully of Fred and George Weasley back at home; but thinking of the twins brought back memories of Ron and Harry, and it hurt to think about them.

Hermione sighed and closed her eyes, resting against the truck of the tree. What were Ron and Harry doing right now, she wondered, at this very moment in Time, but years and years from now?

* * *

**COMING NEXT TIME!**

As Hermione herself wondered, what ARE Ron and Harry doing? Will we find out in the next chapter, perhaps? How will people react when they realize Hermione's gone? Will they know where she is?

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**SHOUT-OUTS!**

**SteffieGee: **Hey! You reviewed again! Yay. :) So, of course, thank you so much for that. :p And yes it is very good to know that this is a story you're going to follow, I'm so glad! Hope to talk to you again!

**Tami: **Thanks for reviewing. I'm so glad that you liked it. :)

**This is for everyone: **This story has been reviewed four times. Now, two reviews per chapter isn't all that bad in a fandom like HP, but I've also noticed that this story is on the alert list of eight different people. And not one of them has reviewed. I really, really hope this doesn't continue; I promise, I'm not trying to be a review whore or anything, I would just really like some feedback from you. Thank so much, and cheers!

* * *

**Next update:** Next Thursday (the tenth of April). Until then, later, y'all!


	4. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** The _Harry Potter_ series belongs to J.K. Rowling.

**A/N:** So, I was having a bit of internet trouble; that's why this is a little late. I'm veddy, veddy sorry to the minimal amount of people who've read this, but these things can't be helped, you know?

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**Chapter Three**

An older Albus Dumbledore, from present day Hogwarts, was in his office; sitting as his desk, more specifically, reading a letter from the Ministry. He was quickly growing bored of this letter, however, and searching for a distraction, he opened the top drawer of his desk. What he found there made him immensely happy: a bag of unopened lemon drops.

As he casually popped one into his mouth, savoring the sour flavour, he continued reading the letter. But then something happened that made him grow as still as if he'd been frozen or Stunned. He felt like he just dropped into a Pensive; indeed, he was even now seeing with his eyes something that was not happening in front of him—a memory…_his_ memory, though he had never known it before.

_It was late at night…there was a girl, a young girl…she had bushy hair, and brown eyes, widened because of nervousness._

"_Please, sir. I need your help…" _

_She was frightened. Something had happened. Something that could be bad, very bad…_

"_I'm a third year student at Hogwarts—some twenty-five years from now…" She handed him something; it was broken…a Time Turner…_

"_Today, while I was trying to go back to my Potions class, some—something…happened. And instead of stopping a few hours before, I ended up here."_

_It was remarkable…he'd heard of this, of course, but never known anyone who'd actually done it…lost in the wrong Time…_

_And Professor McGonagall was there…yes, she'd brought her to him…what had she said? "This is Hermione Granger. James Potter and Sirius Black brought her to my office."_

The present-day's Dumbledore nearly choked on his lemon drop. What was this he was experiencing? He had thought it a memory, but surely not. Hermione Granger was a student of this time; a student quite capable of using a Time Turner. She would not get lost in Time. He must have dozed off reading the letter: it wasn't a very interesting read, after all.

But no. There was a little more…

"I'm going to work immediately on getting another Time Turner." And he had searched for one, but he could find nothing… Spares were so, so rare… "It may take awhile to find one." And meanwhile she would stay at Hogwarts…until a solution was found...

Now Dumbledore was certain it wasn't a dream. It had to be a memory, it was too vivid; there was no other explanation. He closed his eyes, willing more memories to come to him—how had she gotten back to her own time? When? Had she even come back?

But while the first two memories came easily and clearly, uncalled for, anything else stayed hopelessly out of reach of his mind's grasp; he could feel them now that he knew they were there, just under the surface, but so well hidden…

Something had to be done. If a Hogwarts student really was stuck in another Time, they had to bring her back immediately. But first to learn more; he had to find out when Hermione had gone missing, and why no one had informed him before.

-xXx-

Harry slumped down in his chair, listening to Professor Snape's voice drone on and on. He should be alert, paying attention, because Snape loved to call on him when he least expected it, asking a question he couldn't answer, and then taking points from Gryffindor because of it. So, yes, he should be listening, but he really hated this class…

His best friend, Ron Weasley, sat beside him, looking as bored as Harry felt—was he drooling on his book, even? Harry laughed softly under his breath, and turned to his other side, where an empty chair sat. His other friend, Hermione Granger, usually occupied it, but she hadn't showed up for Potions class today. It was strangely out of character for Hermione to skip a class—but she had been so tired lately, and especially so today. That Time Turner was really wearing her out. She had probably fallen asleep and not woken up. She would be angry when she realized her mistake, Harry thought, smirking despite himself.

"Excuse me, Severus—I need to borrow Mr. Weasley and Mr. Potter, if it's all right with you." Harry jerked to attention when he heard his name, and scanning quickly around the room, he spotted Professor McGonagall standing by the door; she was the one who had spoken.

At first, Snape looked like he would say no. But when the Transfigurations teacher said simply, "Dumbledore wishes to speak with them," he had no choice but to nod and gesture harshly for Ron and Harry to get out.

Harry gathered his things quickly, poking Ron in the shoulder; his friend startled awake, wondering what was going on. Harry nodded towards Professor McGonagall, and indicated he should hurry. Ron grabbed his things and followed Harry out the door.

"What's this all about, Professor?" Harry asked as his teacher lead them down the hall at a remarkable speed. Ron, still looking half-asleep, followed lazily after them.

"You'll see when we get there," McGonagall replied shortly, turning a corner and stopping so suddenly Harry slammed into her and Ron slammed into him.

"Blimey," Ron said, shaking his head like the collision had brought him back to the present. "What was that for?"

"Why, Remus! Where are you off to in such a hurry?" Harry and Ron peered around their Transfiguration teacher to see the professor in question, looking twice as tousled and hassled as he normally did.

"H-have to see…to see…Dumbledore," he said breathlessly, a weird gleam in his eye that made him look slightly insane. "Some—something's happened."

Harry felt an odd tingle of curiosity go through him. Next to him, Ron seemed to perk up, listening with interest.

"We're just off to see him as well," Professor McGonagall said, looking from her fellow teacher to Harry and Ron. Lupin saw them and started, looking even more demented them before; Harry got the impression he hadn't noticed them until now.

Lupin cleared his throat, pointedly not looking at Harry or Ron again, and said, "well—let's go on then, shall we?" He continued towards Dumbledore's office at a pace even faster than McGonagall's was before; Harry and Ron found themselves jogging to keep up.

Their obvious distress was beginning to worry Harry. He exchanged a look with Ron, and he could see they were thinking exactly the same thing—what was going on?

-o0o-

Dumbledore looked up in relief when everyone came—literally—spilling into his office. Lupin more or less fell in, flailing his arms comically as he regained balance; even Professor McGonagall didn't look as put together and in charge as she usually did, nearly tripping over herself as she ushered Harry and Ron in quickly.

"Remus," Dumbledore said, speaking before the Werewolf could even open his mouth. "If you would please wait a moment, I would like to speak to Harry and Ron first."

Lupin looked like he wanted to argue, but instead just nodded, stepping aside as Ron and Harry were pushed into the seats opposite their headmaster; nervously, Harry reflected on how this felt like some sort of interrogation, as if he had done something terribly wrong.

"When was the last time you saw, Hermione, boys?" Dumbledore asked his; his voice and manner even, but Harry thought this a very odd question unless something bad had happened to her. Dimly, he was aware of Lupin behind him, shifting awkwardly; he turned around and saw the look of surprise on his face, but didn't care at the moment what it meant.

"Today, Professor," Ron said, when Harry continued watching Lupin and didn't speak. "Just before Potions. She said she needed to get some rest—"

"Of course, yes. That is what I guessed," Dumbledore said quietly. His blue eyes flickered up to Professor McGonagall. "She must have overslept, and tried to go back and make that class again." He scratched his chin thoughtfully. "Why, then, did it go so terribly wrong?"

"I remember, sir," Professor McGonagall said in a voice just above a whisper. "Well, I remember that it was charred and black. But I don't know why."

"She slept in it."

This new voice drew the attention of everyone in the room—Dumbledore and McGonagall looked shocked and surprised; Ron and Harry were just confused, quite forgotten at the moment. Remus Lupin cleared his throat when they all continued to look at him, and sound louder this time, "She fell asleep with it on. I remember her telling us all that. That's why it broke."

"Remus, you remember her?" McGonagall asked in wonder.

Lupin looked increasingly uncomfortable, holding his stomach like he was going to be sick. "Yes," he said simply, after a long, drawn-out moment. "She hung out a lot with the four of us. It's so clear, so vivid…"

"Mine are the same way," Dumbledore said, and Professor McGonagall nodded. Harry, taking advantage of the silence that followed, spoke up.

"Excuse me, but what are you talking about?" he demanded, trying to keep as much irritation out of voice as he possibly could. "What happened? Where's Hermione?"

The three teachers exchanged glances, and for a moment Harry thought they would refuse to explain. But then Dumbledore turned to them and smiled. "You are her friends," he said; "you deserve to know the truth. Hermione didn't show up for her Potions class today because she overslept—that much you have already guessed.

"We think—rather, we are actually quite certain," Dumbledore continued, "that today Hermione used her Time Turner—you will remember she was using one for her classes this year—to take her back to before Potions; but something then went terribly wrong. We assume that her Time Turner was faulty, most likely due to some damage caused from wearing it around her neck as she slept."

"Blimey," Ron muttered. Harry shook his head, looking down at his feet.

But Dumbledore was not finished. "Based off the sudden, new memories Minerva, Remus, and myself have been experiencing, I'm certain she is stuck at Hogwarts, years before now—when Remus was a student there. Also attending at that time was Sirius Black, Peter Pettigrew, and your father, Harry." Harry looked up, not sure what to call the feeling in his stomach.

"How are we going to get her back?" Ron muttered, sounding slightly sick. He was significantly paler than usual, wearing an expression that looked like someone had punched him in the stomach.

"I'm not entirely sure," Dumbledore responded. "There are dangers to just using another Time Turner to pop back in time and snatch her back. It's incredibly risky, as we can't be sure that we won't be doing more harm than good."

Lupin, who was looking very similar to Ron at that moment, headed for the door. "Excuse me, Headmaster," he said weakly. "I only came to inform you of the memories of Hermione. I could really do with a bit of air now, if you don't mind…"

"Not at all, Remus." The Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher had left the room before Dumbledore had even spoken. Following his departure, an awkward silence filled the room, and was not broken until Professor Snape entered the room, moving so swiftly it gave him the impression his feet weren't even touching the ground under his long, black robes.

"Dumbledore," he said in his low, heavy voice; "I just had the most peculiar recollection—it appears that I was once introduced to someone in my school days with the name Hermione Granger." His lips curled into a sneer, as if this bit of news was the best he'd heard all day.

"Yes, Severus, I am aware of Miss Granger's situation. A number of us are beginning to get memories of her from that Time," Dumbledore said calmly. "Unfortunately, there is nothing we can do at the moment."

Snape didn't reply at first. Then, he said simply, "I just came to inform you of Miss Granger's mistake." And fixing Harry and Ron with a cold stare, as if somehow everything was their fault, he turned and left the room without another word.

"I'll take you back to your class now, boys," Professor McGonagall said to fill the silence. Numbly, Harry and Ron stood up, still beside themselves in worry for their friend, and allowed their teacher to usher them from the room like a pair of dim-minded sheep.

-xXx-

Remus Lupin stood on the bridge overlooking the lake, his eyes closed, massaging his temples with one hand. But even through the black of his eyelids, he could still see the memories. Hermione Granger was popping up everywhere. Some, despite himself, brought a smile to his face—as he remembered it, that Time was pleasant and wonderful. But when he reminded himself of them now, it was a rather awkward feeling.

He had gone to Dumbledore with the first memory of her. He would tell him that he remembered Hermione, so they could figure out what that meant and fix it. But he was too embarrassed to share the content of his memories with anyone…

_Night was approaching, and not without reluctance, Remus put his book away. He couldn't read in the dark. Lazily, he stretched out on his back in the grass, enjoying the fact that he could sit here under the stars without fear, at least for a few days' more Time._

_"When do you think we should head back inside?" Hermione whispered from her spot lying next to him. She had been quiet for so long, he had almost forgot she was there. But neither of them had moved since the others had gone off in hopes of having a good laugh at Snape._

_"Soon," he said simply, rolling over to face her. She smiled at him, and her smile was so beautiful he could not help but do the same. But then her smile melted, and she stared up at the sky, not really seeing them, he knew, but something else; something only she could see._

_"Do you miss them terribly?" he asked in a whisper. She turned her head to look at him. He didn't need to explain; she knew he was talking about her friends back at home._

_"Yes," she said simply, her voice far away and sad._

_He didn't know what made him do it. Even later, looking back, he could never say why he did it. It was completely against his nature to reach out to someone, make the first move. But in that moment he wasn't thinking quite clearly._

_He scooted closer to her, and wrapped both his arms around her, as best he could with both of them on their backs in the grass. With one hand he kept her close, and with the other, he gently stroked her hair. Distantly, he heard himself mutter it would be okay, but he wasn't really listening to himself, his mind was just replaying over and over one simple realization: she hadn't pulled away from him yet…she hadn't pulled away from him yet…_

_She never did, either. In fact, she scooted even closer, her head resting gently on his chest._

* * *

**COMING NEXT TIME!**

Can the future figure out a way to get Hermione back? How will Remus cope with these new memories? Will **Mother Nature's Daughter's** internet stay working long enough for an update next week?

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**SHOUT-OUTS!**

Due the terribleness of my dead internet, shout-outs could not be completed this chapter. But I promise to reply to all reviews for the last chapter, plus any I get for this chapter, in the next one. :)

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**Next Update:** Saturday (the nineteenth) looks all kinds of good for an update day, yes?


	5. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer:** The _Harry Potter_ series and everything else like it belongs to J.K. Rowling. Get over it.

**Author's Note:** I HAVE AN EXCUSE, I PROMISE! There was an _NCIS_ marathon on USA this Saturday. What else is expected of me, but to sit there and be mesmerized? Besides, Gibbs makes me go all fangirl-y inside. :D

* * *

When Hermione opened her eyes, she had to pause and blink a few times, because for a minute she thought she hadn't really opened her eyes at all, or maybe she had gone blind. The blackness around her acted like one giant eyelid, blocking out all light.

But after a minute her eyes grew accustomed to the dark, and she could see shadows of her surroundings. She shifted slightly, not realizing until now that there was something wrapped around waist. Her breath caught: her head was not resting on a pillow in the girl's dorms like she had thought; she was, in fact, laying on something quite warm—warm and _alive. _

She jumped to her feet in a panic, nearly running into a tree—that was when she remembered. She had been resting in the grass with Remus, and he had wrapped his arms around her. She recalled vividly placing her head on his chest and closing her eyes, listening to his soft breathing. She must have fallen asleep.

Lupin was stirring now, too. By the light of the not yet full moon, she could see him yawning and rubbing his eyes. He looked confused for a moment as well, until he spotted her. His face broke out into a grin. "Must've dozed off," he mumbled, getting to his feet and brushing himself off.

"Yeah," Hermione said. She shivered in the cold night air; it was, after all, December and there was even snow on the ground. "It's _freezing_ out here," she complained.

Remus came up from behind her and put a hand on her shoulder; this startled her until she realized what it was, and she turned to face him with a smile, which he returned. Hermione was relieved—it felt wonderful to have a friend in all this.

"We should get back inside," Remus said. "I'm surprised no one's found us. It looks late."

"I hope we don't get in trouble," Hermione said, biting her lip with worry. "Come on, we better hurry," she said, pulling him by the hand towards the castle. "And be quiet."

They didn't meet anyone on their way into the castle or up to the Gryffindor common room; the worst thing that happened was Hermione tripping into a suit of armor because she had been watching for people in the next hallway, not things right in front of her. Lupin muffled the sound with a spell, and though Hermione was a bundle of nerves and fear when they reached their dormitories, they hadn't got caught.

Lupin was laughing softly at their luck when they entered the common room; even Hermione could feel herself start to relax again. It wasn't until they entered the room when they discovered that hadn't entirely got away with it—they wouldn't get in trouble, perhaps, but the taunting of the Marauders could be just as bad (if not worse).

"_There_ you two are!" Peter squeaked, sounding like a scolding mother hen. He was sitting in one of the armchairs by the fire, watching a game of Wizard chess going on between James and Sirius. At the sound of their entrance, however, both Wizards turned and smirked.

"Been waiting up for you," James said, looking like he knew something Lupin and Hermione didn't. "We wondered we're you'd gotten off to when we came back to the common room and didn't see you there."

Lupin was turning red. "We're were outside," he muttered; "under the tree were you left us. Just talking."

Sirius' grin said everything he didn't; he obviously thought his friend wasn't telling the whole truth. "_Just_ talking, eh, Moony?" He clucked his tongue in disbelief, swaggering over to the two of them. He placed a hand on Hermione's shoulder protectively, looking like the older brother she'd never had. "Is this true, Hermione? Or has our Moony been up to a bit of mischief after all?" His black eyes twinkled happily.

"Never knew you had it in you, Moony!" James thumped his friend on the back heartily, proud of him.

Now Hermione was blushing; awkwardly, she pushed Sirius' hand off. "We fell asleep," she admitted, coming up with nothing else to say past the flaming in her cheeks.

Sirius shook his head. "Whatever you say, Hermione."

Face on fire, Hermione couldn't speak past all her embarrassment. One glance at Remus and she could see he was just as humiliated as she was. "I…have to get up to bed," she said to no one in particular, and without another word she raced off up the stairs.

As she reached the door to her dormitory, she could still hear some of the conversation continuing below: "You've embarrassed her! She's going to be mad at us now!" That sounded like Lupin.

"No, Moony, we were just having a bit of fun. Hermione knows we were only kidding." That was Sirius, Hermione was sure of it.

"She'll never talk to us again!" It was Lupin's voice again.

"Want me to go and get her? She can tell you she's not mad." James this time.

"No, it's fine. I'm going off to bed, too; it's late." But no footsteps followed Lupin's words. Only silence, then James asked, "you're not mad at us, are you, Moony?"

Lupin sighed so loudly Hermione heard it quite clearly even from where she stood listening. "No, Prongs. I'm not mad."

"Good." Peter's voice, shrill and high. He must not talk much, Hermione decided. His voice always sounded squeaky, like it hadn't been broken in properly.

"Then let's go to bed. We can talk to Hermione in the morning; then you'll see she doesn't hate us, Moony." Padfoot sounded as serious as she'd ever heard him. A moment later, there was large clatter of footsteps as the four boys raced off to their dormitory.

Hermione waited until all was silent again before opening her own door and slipping inside. Lily was asleep already, breathing lightly, so Hermione just crawled into bed and shut her eyes, not giving herself a moment to think over tonight's happenings.

-xXx-

"Good morning, Hermione," Lily chirped when she saw that her roommate was stirring the next morning. Hermione rolled over on her side, wondering if she just closed her eyes tighter then the morning would go away. She had been having a pleasant dream. She was quite certain Ron had been in it, and Lupin and the other Marauders; Harry had appeared, too. But even as Hermione was waking, the dream was slipping farther and farther away, and by the Time she was up and dressed, she had forgotten it completely.

"'Morning, Lily," Hermione told her, as the other girl combed out her red hair. Hermione sat on the edge of her bed, thinking idly that there had been something she needed to do this morning, but had quite forgotten what it was.

"You didn't come in until late last night, Hermione," Lily said casually, now putting her hair until a bouncing ponytail. "Did something happen?" Her green eyes found Hermione's brown ones, looking worried.

"Oh, no, nothing bad," Hermione responded. "I just…fell asleep outside."

Lily's eyebrows shot up. "Really? In this cold weather?"

"Yeah," Hermione said. She could feel the hot blush creeping up her neck like it had last night. "I fell asleep under that old tree," she repeated, drawing a deep breath. She spat out quickly: _"withRemusLupin_."

Hermione didn't know if she wanted Lily to understand or not; on one hand, why should she need to know? On another, it would be nice to have a girl friend to confide in. Either way, Lily obvious did make sense out of what she said, because suddenly she turned with a squeal of excitement and grabbed Hermione's wrists happily. "You _didn't_!" she gasped.

Hermione found herself smiling. "He was just a friend to me when I needed one," she explained, surprised to feel the blush melting away. It wasn't like he'd kissed her or anything, Hermione thought. So she didn't need to be embarrassed by it.

Lily gave Hermione a knowing smile. "He's a much better choice than that Potter or his friend Black," she said appreciatively, releasing Hermione and returning to her wardrobe. Hermione hummed in response. But she felt loads better now that she knew she had another friend in Lily Evans.

"I'm going down to breakfast," she said, saying good-bye to Lily. "I'm sorry we can't eat together this morning. But there's something I need to clear up, all right?" Lily nodded in understanding, the knowing look in her eyes clear.

"See you later, Hermione," she said as the other girl disappeared out of the dormitory.

-xXx-

It didn't take long for Hermione to reach the Hall where they were serving breakfast; but she had no intention of eating just yet. Instead, she scanned the Gryffindor table for signs of the Marauders. She spotted them almost immediately, because Sirius and James were being so loud they drew a lot of attention to themselves. She could see Peter beside them, nibbling at his food, and Lupin with his nose in yet another book. He didn't appear to have eaten anything.

"Hello," Hermione said cheerfully, sitting down in the empty space next to him. He looked up as she sat down, blushed furiously, and quickly buried himself in book again.

"…Hello," he finally muttered, but it was incredibly quiet and she almost didn't hear him. Sirius and James turned to face them and rolled their eyes, looking at each in exasperation.

"Hermione," Sirius began, "would you _please_ tell Moony that you are _not_ mad over our harmless teasing last night?"

"Mad?" Hermione acted like she'd never heard such a thing before. "Of course not, no! Why would I be mad?" She casually reached for a bit of butter and bread.

James looked smugly at Lupin. "See?" he said, "we told you so, didn't we?" Lupin didn't even look up from his book, but it was obvious he was listening to the conversation intently.

"We were just having a bit of fun," Peter squeaked.

Hermione nodded in understanding. "Of course you were. I know that." She smiled at Remus, who had looked up from the page he hadn't turned in awhile, and he cautiously returned the gesture. In an attempt to keep the peace so recently re-required, Hermione abandoned her food and instead lifted up his book and peered at the cover. She made a small sound of appreciation. "I love that book," she said; "Bathilda Bagshot is an amazing author, isn't she?"

"Yes," Lupin replied, and his smile grew wider. "Have you ever read _Hogwarts, a History_? It's my favourite book."

"Over thirty times!"

Sirius and James gaped at her. Lupin's small smile broke into a full-fledged grin that showed all of his pearly whites.

"A bit of a bookworm, eh, Hermione?" James said incredulously.

"No wonder our Moony likes you," Sirius added.

His eyes widened when he realized what he had said. An awkward silence followed for a few seconds, until Hermione cleared her throat determinedly.

"I've read it thirty-two times, to be exact," she said, referring back to the conversation about books as if nothing had happened.

Lupin's eyes twinkled adorably. "Me too!" he said happily. Hermione laughed, and after that the five of them were once again able to have a normal conversation free of embarrassing moments and awkward silences.

Finally, Hermione had to cut the talking short when she checked her watch. "Sorry," she said, grabbing her bag and standing up. "But I want to go see Dumbledore again."

"I thought he said yesterday didn't have any more Time Turners?" Sirius asked.

"He did," Hermione replied; "but I really want to check in again today. Just to make sure."

Lupin nodded. "We'll go with you," he said, standing up as well. James, from his spot at the table, grunted loudly in protest.

"Speak for yourself," he said past a mouthful of food. "I'm not finished eating here." He gestured to the plate before him that kept refilling itself again and again to please the hungers of a teenage boy. Sirius and Peter nodded their agreement.

Lupin grinned, and Hermione was pleased to see that he had relaxed enough again to be less shy. "Okay," he told his friends, and then to Hermione he said, "_I'll_ go with you."

"Thank you, Remus." Hermione smiled. "But you really don't have—"

"No," he said, "it's fine. I want to."

Sirius jabbed James and Peter in their ribcages with his elbows, nodding with a smug smile at the adorable (and really rather sappy, Sirius thought) look passing between Remus and Hermione.

Sirius turned to look at the others, shaking his head. "Our friend is doomed," he said.

-xXx-

Hermione knocked on the door to Dumbledore's office, heart fluttering nervously. She knew she shouldn't get her hopes up too high, because if Dumbledore really had learnt anything else he would surely have gotten her right away. But still, she couldn't stop herself from feeling a little hope.

"Enter," said Dumbledore, and smiled widely at them when he saw Lupin and Hermione come in. "Good morning."

"'Mornin'," Lupin muttered shyly.

"What may I do for you?" Dumbledore asked, like a worker at a grocery store or something similar. Lupin looked helplessly at Hermione.

"I was just wondering," Hermione began, "if you had come up with anything about—"

"Miss Granger." Dumbledore stopped her; looking pointedly at Lupin, eyes gleaming with question. His expression was quite easy to read.

Hermione said, "oh, don't worry. He knows all about it."

Dumbledore's eyebrows raised slightly in mild surprise. "Very well," he said. "But I am afraid, Miss Granger, that there has been no change since yesterday."

Hermione hung her head, feeling let down despite herself. She muttered a weak thanks, and left with Lupin silently, disappointment flowing in her like the blood in her veins. "I'm sorry, Hermione," Remus said sincerely when they had left the office and were now walking down a hallway. His hand brushed against hers as they walked side by side, as if he wanted to take it in his and hold it.

She smiled sadly. "I don't know what I was expecting," she said, annoyed with herself. Like Dumbledore could conjure up a brand new Time Turner in less than twenty-four hours.

Remus raised his arm halfway up, looking like he was going to place it around her shoulders. But whatever rare boldness he had possesed last night that had allowed him to do something like that, it had obviously left him this morning. He looked nervous, and simply lowered his arm back down to his side without saying or doing anything.

* * *

**COMING NEXT TIME!**

With every passing day it becomes more and more urgent to get Hermione back. What will Dumbledore decide to do? And how will Lupin play into it, exactly?

* * *

**SHOUT-OUTS! **(From chapters two and three)

**Tami:** Yeah, I wasn't sure if Hermione could get away with some fake cover-up. Those Marauders are way too smart for that! Thanks for the review, mate! ;)

**Wolfie22:** Thanks so much! I'm glad you like it. And you made me very happy inside when you reviewed. –hands out cookies— Thanks again!

**SteffieGee: **Yes, Remus is acting a bit funny, isn't he? Poor guy… And, yay! My internet was working! Unfortunately, my brain wasn't… Thanks for reviewing, deario. XD

**LuvtoWrite:** Oh, yes, I love those Marauders as well! They're brilliant. :D I love reading—and writing—stories about them. Especially ones like this… Thanks so much for reviewing the chapter! It means a lot, yeah?

**Lolizz: **Thanks for reviewing, mate. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. :)

**MonicaBlack:** Well, I'm very glad to hear that! I hope you continue to enjoy this and review as you continue to read. Thanks so much!

**Allycat1186: **Yeah, poor Ron isn't taking it too well. And neither is Remus, by the looks of things! Thanks so much for your review, chica! Hope you enjoyed this newest chapter! Cheers. :)

* * *

**Next Update:** This Friday. And I won't forget this time, I swear it. My muse has already promised not to get distracted this time. :)


	6. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer:** The _Harry Potter_ stuffeses belongses to J.K. Rowling…eses. Yeah.

**Author's Note:** Told yah I wouldn't get distracted this time! Shout-outs are at the end as always, but I just want to say thanks to EVERYONE who reviewed: I got eight for the last chapter! That's amazing, considering the first few chapters only got two. THANK YOU SO MUCH!

* * *

**Chapter Five**

In the present day, Dumbledore, sitting immobilized at his desk, closed his eyes briefly, then reopened them, and then closed them again. To the man in the room with him, it looked like he was blinking in slow motion, as he repeated this process again and again. It seemed to symbolize his thought process: with each new idea, he would open his eyes, but he would shut them again when he found some flaw where the idea would not work.

"I don't know," he finally said, standing up, placing his hands on his desk palms down. "I just don't know how to get Miss Granger back here. Every plan is too dangerous or too outrageous. Some are just flat out _impossible_…"

Remus Lupin sat in the chair on the other side of his desk, feeling once again all of the thirteen-year-old he had been many years ago. He had said nothing for a long, long time, merely sitting here listening—or, in some moments, pretending to listen—so that when Albus Dumbledore talked aloud like he was doing now, he would feel as if he were not talking to himself.

But now Lupin did actually speak. His voice sounded unnaturally low and rough, and he spoke slowly, as if forming the words took a lot of effort. "Is there nothing you can do?"

"I can think of nothing," Dumbledore responded, "and am growing quite desperate. She has been gone since yesterday afternoon. Terrible things may happen if we leave her there; and yet terrible things may happen if we take her away." He sat back down in his chair.

There was a thoughtful silence in the room for awhile after that, until Remus drew a deep breath and looked up, not at Dumbledore, but rather at some point above his head. "What are we going to do?" he asked quietly.

"What can we do, Remus?" the headmaster replied softly, before answering his own question with a sad sigh. "We can only wait."

But Lupin was sure Dumbledore didn't know anymore than he did just what it was they were waiting for.

-xXx-

Lupin shut his eyes against another memory. It was of Hermione again, of course_. She was laughing, smiling, delighting in something he had said. And he was grinning too, because he loved it when she was happy, and loved it even more when _he_ was the one making her happy._ _She couldn't believe how much they ended up having in common; they had the same favourite book, it seemed, but what was uncanny was that they had each read it the same amount of times…_

"Thirty-two times, cover to cover," Lupin said softly so the man beside him would not hear. He smiled to himself for just a minute, and then it melted away. He felt so guilty, like it was entirely his fault Hermione wasn't already back in her Time. He shouldn't have enjoyed her company so much, he thought, stomach turning.

The memories were coming more and more frequently now, and it was effecting him greatly. For one, he couldn't look anyone that knew what was happening in the eye—not Harry, or Ron, or Dumbledore or Professor McGonagall. And he always felt so awkward in their presence, as if they could look into his mind and discover what he was thinking.

It was like a forbidden fruit, these memories. He enjoyed them while they lasted, but as soon as they had ended, he felt sick. He did not want them to stop, but prayed always for no more to come. He was becoming a walking oxymoron.

Just then Professor McGonagall entered the room, looking worried and worn-out, as if she had not got any sleep at all the night before. And, Professor Lupin thought, she probably hadn't. He had slept none at all himself, though he suspected it was for a very different reason than the other teacher. It was worry of a different kind, a different sickness of the stomach, that kept him awake.

"Have you decided what we should do?" she asked quietly. The bags under her eyes and the sunken dents in her cheeks made the elderly woman look twice as old as she even was. Dumbledore thought a moment more.

"I have come up with nothing," he said just as he told Remus, "but worthless ideas. As of now, I am beginning to think that sending someone there with a Time Turner to bring her back is the best—and, frankly, _only_—option.

"But to send back an adult, like anyone of us, is such a great risk," continued Dumbledore. "What if we are seen by our past selves? We could send back someone not of that Time, someone that runs no risk of being seen by themselves—like Ron or Harry; they would be willing to do anything to get their friend back. But they're only _thirteen_!" he exclaimed, standing up again, as if to object. It sounded very much to Remus like he was having an argument with himself. "They are too young. They should not be sent alone. So once again, we have arrived at a dead end."

Professor McGonagall shook her head sadly, silently agreeing with him. Lupin, on the other hand, thought otherwise. "I will go," he said firmly, standing up as if to prove his willingness. McGonagall looked shocked.

"No, Remus," she said, "it's too risky. You could be seen—"

"Who will look at me now and take me for the young boy that I was?" he responded with a humourless sort of laugh. He was not that old, really, but many hardships and struggles had made him appear to be far beyond his years. "And what's more," he continued, by now completely determined to do this; "I promise you I will be careful. I can do this." He turned to face his old headmaster. "I will not be seen," he said solemnly.

With a long hesitation, Dumbledore gave a very forced nod. "Very well. If…you are sure, Remus." He spoke slowly, speaking the words with a great reluctance. It was obvious this was against his better judgement, but lack of options had forced him to do what he had to. "I have one—and _only_ one—Time Turner here." He got it out of a drawer and set it before Lupin on the desk. Cautiously, Lupin took it and placed it around his neck.

"Remus," Dumbledore said. "You know the importance of this. Be careful, be cautious. _Do not be seen_ by anyone but Hermione." Lupin gave one last firm nod, and left the room, one hand clutching the Time Turner tightly. He felt absurd, like a child marching to a pretend war. But he went anyway.

-xXx-

To avoid being noticed when he arrived in his designated Time period, Lupin did not turn the dial in Dumbledore's office, because then he would appear in Dumbledore's office in the past, and that would probably not end well. So he walked outside of the office, past all the classrooms and the Hall, outside of the castle into the warm spring sunshine.

It was winter in the past. Lupin vividly remembered the chilly air and fluffy snow from the night he had sat under a tree with Hermione. Closing his eyes to better picture that Time and that place, he turned the dial of the Time Turner slowly.

A moment later, the world around him was spinning—it was odd, because Lupin was the one actually traveling. But by not moving at all, and instead having your surroundings change, it was if you were not actually going anywhere, and that Time was instead coming to you. He was marveling at this when the ground under him re-solidified and the trees and lake beside him stood still again.

He looked around him. No one was in site. Where once green grass had been, there was snow. Where the newly budding spring leaves had been, only bare branches remained. He could see the Whomping Willow off at the edge of Forbidden Forest a ways off, not nearly as tall and intimidating as it had been when he last looked at it. But, then, it had only been here three years, not over twenty.

Remus Lupin had returned to the Time of his youth.

* * *

**COMING NEXT TIME!**

Oh, my! What will happen next? Will Remus see anyone he knows? How will he react to being back in the past? And what will happen when he finds Hermione -if he finds her!

* * *

**SHOUT-OUTS!**

**Shetlandlace:** Oh believe me, my friend, me too, me too. Most of my first stories were abandoned, I don't believe I've ever really forgiven myself for that. I'm so proud of myself for actually finishing a story before posting! And thank so much for your review. ;)

**DarkestInk: **Your review made me in a puddle of happy goo. One of the best you've ever read? As I tend to sometimes be my own worst critic, I'm not sure I deserve such a compliment, it's beyond my comprehension! Thank you so much, I'm glad you think so. —huggles—

**SteffieGee:** I think something may have happened to the rest of your review, mate. Unless of course you _meant_ to only say "i". XD!

**Ml101:** Have you ever noticed in your penname the "l" and the "1" look a lot alike? I thought I had typed it wrong for a minute… Anyway, I totally agree: I'm a huge Remus Lupin fangirl! CAN YOU BELIEVE JKR KILLED HIM OFF?! And in such a horrible way as well: I mean, we didn't even get to read about how or when he died or anything! Just Harry "catching a glimpse of Tonks and Lupin's bodies" or whatever. Er… I'm incredibly sorry I just went off on a ramble like that—but I thank you for your review, and hope you continue to enjoy this story. :)

**Allycat1186: **Thank you so much!

**Lightest'Ink:** This story is oozing with cuteness. I'm ashamed to say there's not much else but fluff. And thank you for reviewing!

**Adelynne:** Hey there! I'm glad you're enjoying my fic. I hope you liked this update!

**MonicaBlack:** Oh, where were your creative juices when I was writing this, huh?! I could have totally used that idea—it would have been great! And added so much drama to the fic (much more than it currently has, I daresay!). Except it's already completed. :( —Okay, well, it being completed isn't a bad thing, but still… I really like your idea! Thanks for mentioning it, and for reviewing. ;)

* * *

**Next update:** I think we'll wait a bit longer and go for next Monday (not the Monday three days from now, but next week). A lot more people update on weekends rather than weekdays, you know what I mean?

* * *

…Oh, I forgot to tell you all: I'm a psychic. And I predict reviews in this story's future! In fact, I believe I'm getting a vision…it's of you (yes, YOU!)…you appear to be writing something…could it be…but no…wait, yes….yes, it is! _You're writing a review_!


	7. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer:** Yeah, I'm JKR. Really! Honestly…

**Author's Notes:** Wow, the sixth chapter already! Where does the time go? XD

* * *

**Chapter Six**

Lupin looked around wildly, a bit overwhelmed. To think, even as he stood out here on the grounds, he was also, another version of himself, somewhere inside: eating lunch, perhaps, or studying in the library. There were _two_ Remus John Lupins at Hogwarts…

Forcing himself to concentrate on the reason he was even here to begin with, he began to make his way to the castle, careful not to be spotted. It was about midday: bright and sunny, the kind of perfect day where it should be warm and breezy, but because it came in the wrong month was just cold and blinding with the sun reflecting on the snow.

He was careful not to be seen. He encountered no one on the grounds, but the castle worried him. Could he just walk into it without anyone noticing a strange man inside? It seemed a very unlikely feat, but as it appeared Hermione was not out here right now, it had to be done.

Lupin nearly dove behind a suit of armor when he heard two voices coming towards him from the hallway in front of him. He hardly dared to breath as two very familiar boys walked into view.

"Did you see Snivellus' face, Padfoot? Oh, man, that was fantastic!" Prongs gave a hearty laugh, his brown hair tousled and his glasses looked sideways on his face. His best friend was grinning widely as well.

"Brilliant," Padfoot agreed, and they both sniggered. Lupin's heart was beating very loudly; it was such an amazing notion, being just a few feet away from his best friends again. He had forgotten how horrible they were to Severus Snape, though.

"So where's Moony and the others gone off to?" Prongs asked as they passed him, nearly out of view. Lupin's heart soared; he wouldn't have to wander around aimlessly now. They were a good distance away now from his hiding place, but heard Padfoot's reply, because he was never very quiet.

"Dunno where Wormtail is," he said, "but Moony went to the library to get another book. Hermione went with him, I think. Honestly, to go to the library on Christmas _break_…"

The Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher didn't hear Prongs reply, because they turned the corner and were gone. He waited for a few more seconds, just for good measure, and then darted out from behind the suit of armor and made his way to the library, his stomach knotted in nerves like he hadn't felt since he was a teenager.

-xXx-

As soon as Lupin walked into the school library, extremely grateful the librarian's attentions were focused elsewhere and he could dart behind a bookshelf without being seen; he noticed immediately the two third years in the corner, browsing through the books on a shelf a few feet away from where he hid. This was so bizarre, he thought, and so wrong. He was watching himself.

Hermione was beside the younger him, her smile as wide as his was. She pulled a book from the shelf and turned it over in her hands. "What about this one?" she asked.

Remus took it from her and studied it. "I've read this," he said. He handed it back to her. "Have you ever read it?"

"Yes." Hermione put it back on the shelf. "It was pretty good, but not anything spectacular."

"I know what you mean," Remus said thoughtfully. The older Lupin resisted the urge to laugh; had the two of them honestly spent all their free time in the library, pulling books randomly from shelves and sharing their opinions? He had forgotten how much of a nerd he was, but the idea of doing just that still sounded distinctly enjoyable. He still was a bookworm.

He watched on, memories of today washing over him like a tidal wave, even as he saw them unfold at the same time. He wondered idly how he could alert Hermione of his presence and get her home without the younger him seeing him as well. He came up with nothing.

So instead he just watched as the young Remus and Hermione compared book after book after book; and he remembered all the time they had spent together. He had really liked her; she was someone with the same interests as him (Sirius and James avoided books and Peter avoided what they avoided) and out of that sparked a happy friendship.

"Ah!" Young Remus said delightedly, pulling a book out of the shelf. "I have my own copy of this, of course. Didn't you say it was your favourite book?" He handed it to Hermione, all smiles. Lupin distinctly remembered that one: _Hogwarts, a History._

"Yes," Hermione said, and he knew she was delighted he had remembered. The older Lupin smiled again, his original intentions to bring her home completely forgotten for the moment. He was happily strolling down memory lane; the scenes literally playing in front of him. "I've read my own copy at home so much it's nearly falling apart."

"Thirty-two times, cover to cover," both Remuses said at the same time—one cheerfully, one in a murmur. They grinned at the same time, too, and if someone were to be observing them both they would see that Time had not changed Remus Lupin's smile.

-xXx-

Lupin didn't know how long he sat and watched them, but when he looked at his watched he was startled to find that it was getting late. And he still hadn't had a chance to get to Hermione; she was never alone. He had hid behind this bookcase long enough. It was time to actually _do_ something. But just as he made this decision, another memory hit him at the same Time it happened a few feet away.

Hermione handed Remus another book to see what he'd thought of that one, and their hands touched. Both of them froze, blushing. Remus dropped his head shyly, dropping the book and scooting closer to her. "Hermione," he said awkwardly, mumbling so it was hard to understand.

Hermione hummed in response, her face a brilliant shade of pink. Remus looked up at her, his shyness evident on his face, his heart pounding madly. She was nervous as well, that much was obvious. Anyone would be able to guess what would happen next, and it would have, too if a sudden interruption hadn't interrupted the almost kiss and startled both of them so that they flew back away from each other.

"Moony! Hermione!" Sirius Black came loping towards them, his grin covering his entire face, his eyes lit up. He skidded to a stop in front of his friends, not even noticing their blushes or they way they were both breathing heavily and looking at each other before quickly looking away. "It was brilliant. James and me were in the cafeteria, and Snivellus walked in. And then—"

The librarian had been glaring at them since Sirius ran in. "SSH!" she said, but when Sirius barely lowered his voice even a little, she got up from her desk and made her way toward them. "Out!" she said, "OUT! The library is for reading and studying, not gossiping! _OUT_!"

She herded the three out of the room and glared at them until they turned a corner and disappeared. She returned to her desk, then, and buried herself in the book she had set down. Lupin exhaled as quietly as he could, and slid down to sit with his knees in front of him and his back to the bookshelf, mind racing at the memory replayed again in his mind.

"I was so angry at you that day, my old friend," he chuckled humorlessly, recalling Sirius bursting in on their near kiss. "And so grateful to you as well." He clearly remembered his fear in that one moment; how afraid he had been that that might actually happen.

He knew that now, being an adult, another feeling should be racing through him: disgust. He was her teacher, and she was the student. But he couldn't bring himself to feel that way. Lupin sighed and hit his head against the back of the bookshelf. He at least felt guilty. And confused; he was feeling a lot of confusion. But still…

Stupid, complicated Time Travel. Stupid, complicated life.

* * *

**COMING NEXT TIME!**

Can Lupin find Hermione without the others? Can things get anymore awkward for him, poor thing? And how's everyone fairing in the future?

* * *

**SHOUT-OUTS!**

**Allycat1186: **Thank you for your review! I hope you keep enjoying this story. :)

**MoonNightLover:** Thanks so much for reviewing!

**Lady Zymurgy: **Yes, my pyshic abilities are brilliant, yes? Ooh, yeah; I love Remus! I would love to box him up and take him home as well, haha. And I'm glad you found this story as well, I hope you liked this update! Thanks for your review. :)

**Ml101: **Oh, if I got started ranting about the way JKR killed her characters… Well, this repsonse would be truly long. Ha! But I'm glad you (and probably a million billion other people as well) understand how I feel! Thanks for reviewing, mate!

**Adelynne: **You know something, I think older Lupin feels EXACTLY the same way as you do! I can only imagine it's awkward for the poor fellow, Hermione being his student and all… XP Thanks for reviewing; hope this update pleased you!

**Next update: **Next Monday -I believe that's the 12th, yes? Okay...remember my amazing prediction last week? Well, amazingly enough, I'm getting that SAME vision again this week...


	8. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: **See previous chapters.

**Author's Note:** Yay!

* * *

Ron Weasley felt twice—no, make that four times—his age. He had never worried this much in his life; it was driving him crazy. It had been bearable, just barely, when he knew nothing was happening in their 'quest' for Hermione: he had felt desperately helpless, but at least he knew things were not getting worse, if they were not getting better.

But now something was happening: Professor Lupin had gone to bring her back. If he was so afraid he was sick before, the wait for their return was agony. He and Harry had been alerted of Dumbledore's decision during their free period, and after classes they both had raced up to his office, so that they could be there when Hermione and Lupin returned.

_If they return,_ Ron thought grimly, before his lips turned up into something like a snarl, hating himself for thinking that way. Harry didn't seem nearly as affected; he was pale, and there was no doubt he was concerned. But he was sitting calmly in one of the chairs in Dumbledore's office as the headmaster himself stood beside him, patiently waiting, studying the things in his office to pass the Time.

Ron, though, was bouncing out of his seat and pacing the length of the office before returning to his seat and fidgeting for a few minutes, then jumping up and repeating the whole process. This was torture. He was going to lose his mind.

"Mr. Weasley," Dumbledore said calmly, turning to face him; Ron thought he saw the faintest twinkle of amusement in his eyes. "Would you just sit still? Everything will work out fine. Nothing has gone wrong yet."

"How do you know that?" Ron blurted out before he could stop himself, forcing his lead legs to fold as he sat down in his chair. His fingers whitened on the armrests as if his grip on them was the only thing that kept him from springing up again.

"I have gotten no new memories," Dumbledore replied. "Not even of a man claiming to be from the future. Remus has not been seen." He chuckled slightly, and sat down in his own chair. "On one hand, I am greatly relieved. On the other, I should be ashamed that I was not aware of his presence in my school…"

Ron stopped listening. His fingers drummed a nervous rhythm on the desk in front of him as he fidgeted. Beside him, Harry swallowed and looked up. "She'll be all right, won't she, Professor Dumbledore?" he asked weakly.

Dumbledore smiled that reassuring smile again. "I hope so, Harry," he said. "And don't worry too much, either. Professor Lupin is more than capable of bringing them both home safely. All we have to do is wait."

Ron moaned. "That's the worst part!"

"Indeed, Mr. Weasley. Anticipation always is."

Suddenly, the door behind them opened. Ron jumped out his seat instantly, while his two companions turned expectantly. Ron grinned eagerly, nervous and delighted, praying she would walk through that door…

"Professor Lupin!" Harry jumped out of his seat when he saw their Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. He was grinning, too, but it immediately melted away. Ron wondered at his friend's expression, before he turned back to Remus, walking through the door, looking pale. He was alone.

Ron felt like he had been hit with a ton of bricks. He was surprised he hadn't fell flat on his face. Something had happened. Something was wrong. "Where's Hermione?" he croaked.

Dumbledore's eyes were all business, intent, serious. He watched as Lupin gratefully collapsed into an empty chair, closing his eyes. The Time Turner was around his neck, undamaged. "Remus," the headmaster said gently, "what happened?"

It was the longest minute of Ron's life, before Lupin finally opened his mouth to answer. The Werewolf's breathing was uneven. "I…I'm sorry," he said, never opening his eyes, never looking at him.

"Is Hermione all right?" Harry demanded, his fear taking the place of anger. Ron wished he could be furious, too, because any emotion would be better than this horrible sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"She's fine," Lupin said hurriedly, sitting up and opening his eyes for the first time. "She's completely fine. She was there, just like we suspected, in the Time when I was a boy. I saw her."

"So why didn't you bring her back?" Ron said, his fists clenched. He couldn't explain his sudden mood swing: but as soon as Lupin said Hermione was okay but not here, his brows immediately furrowed and he could feel his face heating up. Why hadn't he got her?

"There was no way for me to reach her," Lupin replied apologetically, the colour returning to his face. "She was never by herself. Someone would have seen me." He sighed and rubbed his brow with one hand. "I couldn't bring her back," he explained.

Harry sunk into the chair beside him, nodding slowly. He didn't seem to know what he thought of this. Ron didn't know what to make of this, either, except that he blamed the man in front of him for not bringing Hermione back. He simply hadn't tried hard enough, he was sure of it.

Dumbledore seemed to share his way of thinking, to some degree. He hummed thoughtfully, subconsciously fingering a few items on his desk. Finally, when he did speak, his tone and manner were both even and un-accusing, though his hands shook slightly.

"You couldn't bring her back, Remus," he said, his voice low and intense. "Or you wouldn't?"

* * *

**Coming Next Time!**

Ooooh! Now what? How will Hermione get home now? And what about Lupin; he seems to be in a spot of trouble, huh?

* * *

**Shout-outs!**

**RogueOnFire:** Thank you so much for your review. It made me all happy and fuzzy on the inside. :) I hope this chapter didn't disappoint. I tried to refrain from reading many Time-Traveling fics so that mine wouldn't influenced by them. I'm glad you think it's different!

**Silverstagbeauty: **Aww, your review made me warm and fuzzy on the inside as well! I'm so glad you thank my story's good. Thanks for reviewing!

**Lady Zymurgy: **Wow. You're review had me laughing for, like, five minutes! "I have the amazing ability to predict the past". "Don't be shocked, it's all real". LOL! I love that. That's absolutely ace. :) And anyway, one psychic to another, I have to say thanks for you (hilarious) review!

**Moonnightlover: **Once again, thank you for reviewing! I'm glad you're keeping up with this story. Yay, Remus in the past!

**Ml101: **Yes, mate, I think "awkward" pretty much covers it. XD Poor Lupin!

**RubeusHagrid34: **Thanks so much for your review! And I have to say that I LOVE your penname! Hagrid's brilliant. :) (Don't tell anyone, but he's actually got an appearance in this story a few chapters from now!) Thanks again!

**Totally CRAZY and Hyper:** Haha, love your penname. Awesomeness! Yes, Hermione and Remus are both in a little situation now, aren't they? But at least we get to sit back and enjoy them squirm! –insanely mean giggle- Thanks for reviewing, mate!

**LuvtoWrite: **Yes, Lupin went back. Exciting, no? Glad you liked it! Thanks for the review; talk to you later!!

* * *

**Next Update: **I think Monday's are working out well, yeah? So, until next Monday, then!


	9. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: Ssh… I'm J

**Disclaimer:** Ssh… I'm J.K. Rowling in secret, watering down my amazing writing skills so I sound more like an amateur teenager author. That way no one suspects me.

-xXx-

"Hey, guess what, guys?" Sirius asked his four companions as they lounged around in the common room. They had the entire Gryffindor Tower to themselves aside from Lily Evans, who spent the majority of her time away from the common room if they were in it. Sirius thought she had a friend in Ravenclaw she ran around with a lot, and that Slytherin Snivellus, or something. It didn't matter, because as a result he always got the best armchair by the fire, where he was sprawled out in sideways at this very moment, grinning.

"What, Padfoot?" James asked, playing Wizard Chess in the floor with Peter; the latter was losing considerably, to the point of it being just flat out pitiful. But the most pathetic thing was Peter's face of delight as he lost man after man after man.

"There's only three days left until Christmas."

Everyone looked up at him happily, because no one had really seemed to have remembered this fact before now. But the person that definitely responded the most was their very own Time Traveler, Hermione Granger.

"_Honestly_?" she asked, sounding taken aback. She looked up from the book she had been reading in another armchair across from Sirius and next to Remus. She took a minute to catch her breath, aware the others were watching her. "Wow," she said finally.

"Didn't you know it was Christmas break, Hermione?" Remus asked from over his own book, his eyes twinkling at her over reaction. He didn't try to hide his amusement at all. She made a face at him.

"Well, of course, I did," she said, and it was true. That was the reason for the small number of students in the common room and why there were extra beds in the dormitories. But to be so close to Christmas day…she had thought it might have already passed, or something… Though she wasn't sure why, Hermione found that this news unsettled her. She forced herself to forget about it, and just buried her nose in her book again.

Sirius laughed, and turned to the others, and soon the buzz of pointless conversation filled the room. That was, until a quarter of an hour later, when James demolished Peter in Wizard Chess once again, and decided that that was enough for awhile.

"So, Hermione," James said as he put his chess set away and spread out on his stomach on the floor to get a better look at her. "What's the future like?"

Hermione's breath caught in her throat as she looked over her book at him. Sirius stopped talking to Peter, and both of them looked at her with the highest level of intensity. Even Remus lowered his book, looking curious.

"Uh…," she said hopelessly. "I…I'm not really sure what I can tell you, that won't, you know, alter the future or anything." There, she thought. Just be honest, tell them the truth. It'll be easier that way, they have to understand what they're asking of her.

James rolled his eyes. "Oh, come on. It can't be that bad, can it?" The others made sounds of agreement. "Just start with something little," he prompted, "like…what do I do in the future?"

_Nothing. You're dead._

But Hermione couldn't say that to him. Instead, she scowled at James, and then at the three others just for looking eager. "That's not a little thing at all!" she accused. In fact, it was probably the _biggest_ thing she could tell them.

James sighed. "So. Just tell me something about my future. Anything at all you want to," he said, trying to making his voice gentle and inviting, as if this were no big deal and just casual small talk. It might have worked, had his eyes not looked so mischievous and curious.

"Well…uh…" Hermione struggled to find something she thought would be safe. "You…have a son. Harry."

"That's what you called me when we met." James nodded, remembering. She couldn't read anything more of his expression, however. Was he happy? Disgusted? Did he care at all? Hermione found this all terrifying.

"What's my future like?" Sirius sat the right way up in his chair, leaning forward eagerly. James sat up as well, punching his friend in the shoulder playfully.

"What future, mate? You failed out of Hogwarts and wasted away your life in Azkaban," he said teasingly. Sirius laughed and Remus and Peter grinned, but Hermione felt sick, like she was going to throw up. If he only knew how close he was.

"I don't think this is such a good idea, guys," she said weakly, pushing herself up and preparing to leave. Her legs gave way immediately, though, and had a quick hand not reached out to steady her, she would have toppled over.

"Careful," Remus said as she lowered herself back into the seat, his hand holding her arm. He smiled at her encouragingly; Hermione tried to return the gesture, but couldn't. She still felt like she was going to pass out. Dimly, she was aware that they were watching her again.

"Well," Hermione finally said, her voice barely above a whisper. "I don't know about your school grades, Sirius. Just…um…be careful who you trust." Her eyes flickered to Peter before she could stop herself. When she realized what she was doing, she closed her eyes forcefully and drew a deep, steadying breath, hoping no one noticed.

Everyone had gone silent, pondering what her words meant. Before anyone can ask for anything further about it, she changed the subject by blurting out the first thing to come to her mind: "You're going to be school prefect, Remus."

His future forgotten, Sirius shook with laughter. "Figures, our Moony the perfect prefect. I guess he's supposed to keep the rest of us in line, then?"

"That's right." Hermione bit her lip.

James and Sirius laughed harder, and Peter looked like he was trying to, but it sounded more like squeaky hiccups. Remus smiled, unaffected by it.

"Oh, hey," James said suddenly, "what about little Wormtail over here?" He threw his arm over Peter's shoulders in a friendly way. Hermione felt her nervousness slip slightly in favour of anger. How badly she wanted to warn them of his betrayal.

"I don't know," she said stiffly, the icy tone from her hidden fury making her voice sound confident and truthful, not stuttering like it normally did when she lied. "I don't know the older Peter very well."

"But you know the rest of us?" Remus looked intrigued. Hermione had to admit, it was a strange idea: she knew them, and remembered things about them that they had told her, and she considered some of them friends and allies…while they had no memories of her before a few days ago.

"Yes. Well, I've never actually met you, James." No need to tell him why. "But I'm friends with your son. And Sirius, I only just met you a few days before I ended up here. You're Harry's godfather."

James clapped Sirius on the back, because to them it was just a game, a story Hermione was telling. None of it seemed possible to them; they had no idea what was going to happen them, and didn't much care now. They were only a few teenagers at school.

"Do you know me, Hermione?" Remus asked quietly, smiling, and she looked over to meet his gaze. When she did so, she quite forgot what she had been about to say. She knew the expression 'butterflies in your stomach', and that was exactly what she felt. Their imaginary wings fluttered inside her until it felt like she was being tickled; she would have laughed, had she any breath in her lungs. But she'd forgotten how to breathe.

Sirius made a point of gagging loudly.

Hermione shook her head and smiled sheepishly at the others. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw Remus looking down at his hands in his lap, seeming nervous. Well, at least he had been staring back at her and feeling the same way. She didn't feel so foolish now.

"Yes, I know you," she said to him, speaking casually. But she didn't look at him again, so she didn't know if he was looking at her. "You're a teacher, actually. Defense Against the Dark Arts. And you…" She trailed off. She had been about to say "and you're a Werewolf", but of course he was already one now. No need to startle him anymore by blabbing about how she knew that as well.

"Wow," Remus breathed, "a professor."

"Yeah." She smiled, risking the smallest glance at him to see him looking pleased with himself. But she felt like she had said too much. About everything. What if she changed something? For instance, she had forgotten until now about Lily's friendship with Severus Snape. And then her disgust with James. _That_ couldn't be right.

"I think that's all I can really tell you," she said, "I'm already afraid I told you too much." She curled up back into her chair and picked up her book, determined to forget about it all for awhile.

The others didn't stop her. They let her read, and instead chattered away about all that they knew about themselves now: James Potter, a father. Remus Lupin, a teacher. They found it all highly entertaining…the only thing they couldn't quite figure out was Hermione's warning: _be careful who you trust._

**Coming Next Time!**

Traveling back to the future to see what's going on with Mr. Lupin. Oooh!

**Shout-outs!**

**Lady Zymurgy: **I want a Remus too! Whoo! And yes, it is indeed a hard life, seeing and knowing all. But someone has to do it, yeah? Thanks for all your reviews, dear. 

**MoonNightLover:** We'll see how much trouble Lupin's in during the next chapter. Thanks loads for your review. :)

**SteffieGee: **I know, I know, the last chapter was short! Hopefully this one was better?

**Silverstagbeauty:** Hey! Keep reading to find out what happens next. Thanks as always for your support. :)

**Totally CRAZY and Hyper: **Aww, you don't have to check this story every day! Just every Monday. :) And why Lupin did what he did will have to wait until next weekend! Thanks for your review!

**Next Update**: Next Monday.


	10. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer:** Here to pour salt in an open wound, are we?

**Author's Note:** Because Erin told me to.

* * *

A present day Remus John Lupin found that his heart had stopped working. He was incapable of movement, of thought, of the ability to breathe—the only thing he could do was gape, literally, with his mouth wide open, his eyes surpassing Elijah Wood's in size.

After one long, agonizing second, Lupin was able to draw himself up and take a deep, steadying breath. The three others in the room stared at him, trying their best to look casual, though the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher knew there were accusations behind their calm.

They were waiting for him to answer Dumbledore's question.

"Excuse me?" he said when he could speak without stammering, trying his best to look indignant, or appalled that they would even suspect him of purposefully returning to this Time without Hermione. Inside, though, he wasn't so sure: was he acting this way because he was, in fact, guilty of just that?

He stood up a little straighter, refusing to believe that. "No, Dumbledore, I did not leave without Hermione of my own free will. Like I said, I _couldn't. _She was never alone. I couldn't get to her without anyone noticing," he said, like he had said before. He fixed them all with a stony stare.

Dumbledore didn't even blink, or move, or anything. But he was obviously thinking, because a few moments later he said evenly, without taking his gaze off of the Werewolf's, "Harry, Ron. There's nothing more you can do here. I bid you, leave; I want a word with Professor Lupin alone."

Ron looked outraged. "But we want to _stay_! We have to help Hermione! I don't know why we have to leave anyway, it's _his_ fault Hermione's still stuck there!" He fixed Lupin with the nastiest glare he could muster, and Lupin was taken back by so much fury in someone so young. The phrase '_if looks could kill'_ involuntarily flashed through his mind.

Harry placed a hand on his friend's arm and shook his head silently. "Come on, Ron," he said. With one more dark look at Lupin, Ron stormed out after Harry, his face red with anger. Lupin watched them go, amazed.

"I'm so sorry," he said to no one in particular, since the boys couldn't hear and Dumbledore was still just standing there, staring. Lupin felt like he was shrinking under his gaze, and he got the distinct feeling his mind was being examined, like none of his thoughts were safe from the powerful man in front of him.

"You're absolutely right, Remus," Dumbledore said, startling the younger man. "Not even your most private thoughts are hidden from me, nor anyone else using Legilimency against you when you're unprepared." His tone was so casual, he might have been smiling as well, but his face remained nervously expressionless.

Lupin's breath caught. Dumbledore was reading his mind? Oh, god; oh, no…what if he saw—the memories—Hermione—he couldn't… But Dumbledore was talking again, and neither his words nor his tone hinted at the old Wizard playing mind reader. At least…not yet.

"So why don't you just tell me the truth, Remus, so I don't have to take it from you," Dumbledore said calmly, and Lupin nodded, sinking down to sit in the chair with his hand over his eyes. He would tell Dumbledore some of it, but there was no way he could tell it all.

"I honestly never had the chance to get Hermione's attention. She was always with someone." He looked up to meet Dumbledore's gaze, grey eyes staring at blue. He said, firmly, "and that _is_ the truth."

Dumbledore nodded, encouraging him on, like he would a child.

"But—and I am ashamed of this—I wish I hadn't—I was already coming back, I promise you. I had already given up trying to get Hermione alone. But there was a moment as I was traveling, that I thought of just casually…letting the Time Turner drop from my grasp, so that it would be lost to us. So that Hermione would stay in that Time a little longer."

Dumbledore did not look angry. He didn't look shocked, or surprised. In fact, he was nearly expressionless, doing and saying nothing. In the silence that followed, Lupin wanted to tell Dumbledore how he reprimanded himself immediately after thinking that, or how he had been disgusted with himself, or how he was so sorry, or at least that he knew the dangers of leaving Hermione there longer than necessary. He wanted to tell him all that.

But he couldn't.

And Lupin was too confused to even begin to ponder why he couldn't make himself say any of those things; whether it was because he had never felt or thought that way, or for some other reason. He didn't want to know; instead, he just focused all this thoughts on Dumbledore, staring at him with a look of desperation. He didn't feel an ounce of the intelligent man he was, but rather like the shy, awkward child he had once been. He wished the old headmaster would speak.

Then, after another moment, Dumbledore did say something, speaking as if there had been no silence at all between Lupin's confession and his statement. "So that she could stay with _you_ longer, you mean." It was not a question but a statement—had he read his mind? Lupin bowed his head, because Dumbledore's tone was painfully easy to understand: he was disappointed in him. Greatly.

If he had felt like a foolish child before… Well, that was nothing compared to now. Lupin was even ashamed of himself. How could he let his memories get the better of him like this? He was a grown man, for God's sake!

Dumbledore drew a deep breath and sighed when Lupin remained silent. "Hermione meant a lot to your younger self, did she not, Remus?" This was a question, but Lupin was well aware that he already knew the answer.

"Yes," he muttered anyway, "we were good friends…for the Time she was there."

Now the smallest hint of amusement could be heard in Dumbledore's tone, and Lupin hoped that maybe he was going to be forgiven. "Friends?" was all the old Wizard said, but Lupin immediately understood, and raised his head to meet his eyes.

"Yes," he said firmly, "_friends_." He didn't say anything else, but it didn't take Legilimency to read what he was trying to say in his unspoken thought: '_and nothing more_'.

"Very well," Dumbledore said. "I'm sorry our plan didn't turn out as we'd hoped." He spoke carefully, wording things just right. "We shall try again another time."

"Good night, Professor Dumbledore," Lupin said, trying to sound as casual as possible as he headed for the door, offering a polite but friendly smile to the old headmaster. In return, Dumbledore inclined his head in a farewell nod.

"Good night, Professor Lupin."

* * *

**Coming Next Time!**

WE GET TO VISIT HAGRID! And other things happen as well…but HAGRID!

* * *

**Shout-Outs!**

**Totally CRAZY and Hyper: **Are you seriously out of school now? THAT IS SO NOT FAIR! I still have all next week and a Monday after that! –pouts- Anyway, thanks for the continuous reviews every chapter—I love it when people review multiple times and not just once! –huggles-

**Lady Zymurgy:** Yes, indeed! Knowing your future is a terrible burden—we, as psychics, know this more than anyone. XD And if and when you find your Remus, do tell me where you got him! I think he'd get along with all my other kidnapped victims…I mean, adoring friends…

**Geometry Failure: **…I have nothing to say to you. You're mean!! (HAHA!)

**LuvtoWrite: **Dramatic music, indeed! And I don't like to tell people I'm J.K. Rowling because then they might start asking me to do things, like sign this, or answer this question, or bless this child, or something. Lol. Thanks for all your support, mate!!

* * *

**Next Update:** Umm…. Not a Monday this time. Only because I didn't update this Monday, because it was Memorial day. I'm thinking more…Friday-ish? (As in, not tomorrow, but a week from tomorrow. Ha!)


	11. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer:** I can hold my breath for over a minute.

**Author's Notageness: **NO MORE SCHOOL. FINALLY. That's exciting. Also, I must apologize for being two days late with this update. With the school year so close to an end, I sort of shunned all thought for the past few days. But here is the latest chapter!

* * *

_"I'm sorry, Miss Granger. But we have made no progress in our attempts to get you home. However, we will keep trying."_

Hermione Granger was sick and tired of hearing that everytime she went to Dumbledore's office. Indeed, he had just told her again today he didn't know how to get her home. What good was be able to do magic if you couldn't undo what your magic had done?!

She was ranting, she knew. But she couldn't help it—the people here were wonderful, but she longed for her own Time, her own Hogwarts and her own teachers…her parents, her friends…she missed them something terrible. She wanted to go home.

She had been enjoying her time here as best she could, but she'd already been here four days. Returning to the Time she knew was becoming more and more of a priority: what were the people there doing, she wondered? Did they worry about her; think about her as often she did them?

Hermione sighed and walked down one of the corridors slowly, lightly trailing her fingers against the wall as she moved past. It wasn't so bad here, she thought helpfully. She wouldn't be completely miserable here, would she, if she was to have to stay forever? (But of course, her inner conscience said firmly, she wouldn't _really_ be here forever.) There really were a lot of good things about being here—like, the Marauders; they were really something else!

Despite herself, Hermione smiled. They were a bunch, that was for sure; especially the wild, mischievous James and Sirius, Thing One and Thing Two. And quiet little Peter, who she tried hard not to blame for what he'd do in the years to come; and then there was Remus, her sweet but shy friend, the Werewolf (not that he knew she knew that last bit).

She really liked him, Remus. What it was about him, she couldn't really say, but she was glad she had this time with him, to get to know him better and to be his friend. She was even falling into the habit of calling him Remus, even to herself, and not Professor Lupin—_he_ didn't exist yet, after all.

It was startling to think about, however; Hermione wasn't dumb—she knew enjoying his company like this probably wasn't the best choice. She was spending more time with him—with all of them—than she really should. But she couldn't help it, she had no one else to turn to.

And beside, he was the best thing to happen to her in this Time. The only thing that kept her from wishing this whole thing hadn't happened was him.

Presently, she wondered if, in some deep corner of her mind, kept secret even from herself, she was actually a little happy to still be here, to be in this Time with him.

"No," Hermione whispered to herself, her heart stopping at that thought. "No. It's not true, I want to go home." But the seed of doubt had been planted, and she couldn't get rid of it. So she walked a little faster, trying hard not to think about it anymore.

This fast walk put her in mind to run, and so she did; she ran quickly, not really running from anything or to anything, but just racing down the corridors (she was probably breaking some school rule, but for once in her life it didn't bother her); remembering how, as a child before she knew about the Wizard world, that running was as close as she could ever get to flying.

She turned a corner, preparing to slow down, when something happened that stopped her very suddenly: she ran into someone, and when they fell, she fell, and they landed on the floor in a tangle of arms and legs.

"Oh!" Hermione said, rolling over to see who lay beside her; "I'm sorry, did I hurt you?"

As it turned out, she had not knocked over one person but two of a group of four; Remus and James lay on the ground, half groaning, half laughing; while their companions, Sirius and Peter, stood nearby and cracked themselves up with their own laughter.

"Ow," was all that could be understood out of everything that came from James' mouth. He was grinning, though, and Hermione thought he must not be hurt too bad. He couldn't get up for a minute, he was laughing so hard, but finally he got control over himself and got to his feet, still chuckling slightly.

"Nice to see you too, Hermione," Remus said. He still lay on his back on the ground where he'd fallen over, unwilling to move until his breath came back—Hermione figured she had probably knocked the wind out of him, plus the laughing he'd done at their comic run in.

"Sorry," Hermione said again, though by now she was smiling too. "I wasn't really paying attention to where I was going."

"Obviously," Remus said, sitting up and grinning. He got to his feet, and before Hermione could follow, he surprised her pleasantly by offering her a hand to help her up.

"What were you doing, anyway?" James asked, his eyes twinkling, as his friend hoisted Hermione to her feet and she brushed imaginary dust off herself.

"Running," she said simply.

"Running?" Sirius repeated, obviously thinking he hadn't heard right. "You were running as fast as you sodding well could down a bloody hallway, then? _Why_?"

"No reason." Hermione shrugged, smiling at all of their looks. "I just felt like running, that's all. I was just to see Dumbledore, and he still doesn't know what to do about…my situation." She wasn't sure why she added that last sentence, as if that explained why she had been racing herself in the corridor.

"We were just off to see what Hagrid's been up to, maybe have some tea at his place," James said; "he's a friend of ours, Hagrid. You know him, Hermione?"

_Hagrid_! Hermione could have jumped for joy. To see another familiar face would be wonderful, she was thinking, until she remembered with a shot of pain that he had no idea who Hermione Jean Granger even was.

Still, though, she would like to see him. "I do," she said to the Marauders, "very well. He's a great friend of mine and my friends…or," she added, "he will be, anyway. Or maybe he was. Something like that."

"Well, would you like to come with us, then?" Remus said invitingly, smiling that smile that now seemed so familiar to Hermione. She couldn't help but smile back for a brief moment, before turning to the rest of the group, who seemed to have no objections.

"Of course," she said excitedly. "I would love to see Hagrid again."

"Then let's go!" James naturally ended up at the head of the group of five as they walked lightly along, outside the castle, down the path to Hagrid's.

"So, is Hagrid as terrible a cook now as he is the future?" Hermione asked, though she spoke of the half-giant with affection and not cruelty. Sirius tried to reply, but had to stop because something in her comment had started him laughing again. He did manage a nod.

"You have no idea," Remus said in agreement to his friend's silent statement. He also spoke affectionately, loving that Hagrid could not cook edible things rather than scorning him for it. Hermione smiled.

"Oh, but I think I do," she said, laughing.

-xXx-

"James! Sirius, come in! Remus—Peter." Hagrid acknowledged them all with smiles, moving his bulky frame out of the doorway to let them in. "How are yeh all?"

Everyone chorused they're answers of "okay", "fine", and "good". Hermione followed the boys in to the tiny cabin, hardly changed from how she knew it, and felt a surge of familiarity and pleasure.

Her presence was not unnoticed by Hagrid. He watched her as she took in his home, and smiled kindly. "So—er—who's your friend here?" he asked.

Hermione would have blushed—she had completely forgotten all her manners, not introducing herself—but instead she just moved closer to Remus, embarrassed and feeling shy. "I'm Hermione," she said, "Hermione Granger. I'm a transfer—"

"She's from the future!"

Hermione looked over at James, mildly annoyed. He just couldn't help himself, could he? When he just shrugged, she turned her attention back to Hagrid, wondering how he had taken the little piece of information.

The gentle half-giant merely smiled.

"Righ'," he said, in a tone that made Hermione wonder if he even believed James about her being from the future. "Well, I'm Rubeus Hagrid, Hogwarts gamekeeper. Pleasure ter meet yeh, Hermione; any friend of these boys is a friend of mine." He grinned at her past his thick beard.

"Hello," Hermione said, her smaller hand completely disappearing as he took it into his much larger one and shook her hand gently in greeting.

"How about a cup o' tea while yer here, eh?" Hagrid asked, releasing Hermione's hand and already moving towards his kitchen to make it. Hermione seated herself at his gigantic table, between Remus and Sirius. Hagrid brought the tea, and they all drank and talked, laughing. She didn't keep track of how long they stayed, but it was definitely the better part of the evening—she was very tired when they left.

"Come by again soon, boys," Hagrid said later on that evening, waving a large hand in farewell as they left; "and yeh as well, Hermione!" he bellowed after her. She turned and called her own good-bye back, delighted despite her exhaustion that she had come down here to see him with the Marauders.

When they got back to the Gryffindor common room, the boys automatically collapsed into the chairs by the fire and began to talk. Hermione, on the other had, was looking forward to getting upstairs to the bed waiting for her in the girl's dorms.

"Oi, Hermione, where you going?" James called up to her when he noticed she had not sat down beside them but was instead halfway up the stairs.

"Bed," she said simply, "I'm tired."

"G'night, Hermione!" Remus said, smiling at her. The others did the same, offering her a feeble half-wave for a farewell.

"Good night, Remus," she said, "good night, everyone." She turned and trotted up the stairs, more eager than ever to reach her room—she might not go to sleep immediately, but she was yearning to lie down for a moment.

Lily was still up when Hermione entered, her hair down and she herself dressed in nightclothes already as well. She looked up from her book when she heard the door open, and greeted her friend happily.

"Hey, Lily," Hermione said in return, grabbing the clothes she was going to sleep in from off the bed. "What are you reading?" she asked.

Lily held it up; the third year's book for Potions. "I know," she said, grinning, "I'm a nerd, reading about Potions on break. But it's my favourite subject. Professor Slughorn thinks I have a real talent for it."

Hermione thought with a smile of Lily's son, and his own experiences with Potions. _Must take after his father_, she thought. A moment later her happiness had surrendered to a terrible surge of homesickness. She missed them all so much.

"So," Lily began a moment later; "I saw you on the grounds today with Potter and his friends. Where did you go?"

"Oh, we went down to Hagrid's for some tea," Hermione responded, completely changed by now into the clothes she was going to sleep in. She spread across her bed and looked sideways at her friend.

Lily didn't look up at her, but instead made a "mmm-hmm" sound in the back of her throat, like she knew something Hermione didn't.

Hermione laughed at her expression. "What?"

"Nothing," Lily said lightly, intentionally turning the page of her book with mock thoughtfulness. "I just thought you all looked awful friendly."

"Well, we _are _friends. How should we act?"

"Oh, I didn't mean all of the boys. I just meant one of them…and you." Lily looked up at her, eyes twinkling with mischief. "Remus Lupin couldn't keep his eyes off of you," she said casually.

Hermione found herself grinning, in disbelief, because not believing Lily's words didn't make her heart pound like it would if she considered it to be true. "Come on, Lily, that's absurd."

"It's true!" Lily had completely disregarded her book now and was leaning forward eagerly. "The whole time you were walking beside him and the others, and you were all talking and laughing, he was watching you. I could see it from clear across the yard! I think he really likes you, Hermione," she said, a soft, happy smile on her lips.

"No," Hermione said, though her voice was faint and wistful, and she couldn't be sure Lily had heard it. She leaned down on her bed and tried to swallow the lump in her throat—was she feeling this way because, if Lily's right, she was…what? Nervous? Why—because that's all teenagers feel when they have crushes, or because he was _Professor_ Lupin? Or was this not nervousness at all, and she was actually excited, delighted, or hopeful?

She didn't know. Or at least, she didn't want to know.

"Well?" Lily's voice reached Hermione's ears even past the ringing buzz in them. She looked over at her, feeling distant and confused.

"Well, what?" Hermione asked.

"_Well_," Lily said, stressing the word, "what do you think? Do you like him back?"

Hermione sighed and was silent for a long, long time. "He's a great friend," she finally said, but Lily wasn't satisfied with that answer. She pressed her for more information; but did she like Remus as a 'great friend', or did she maybe like him-like him, like she was certain he liked Hermione?

"I'm not sure, Lily," Hermione finally admitted, "I don't know."

"How can you not know?" Lily screeched, beside herself in eagerness and delight at the situation going on between the teenagers. Hermione clenched her teeth; she had never been one to gossip like this. Maybe there was something wrong with her genetic make-up. All _other_ thirteen year olds like doing this.

Or maybe she just didn't like doing this right now because they were talking about her future DADA teacher.

"You already said he's your friend," Lily continued, "So do you want to go out with him?"

"No." Hermione's voice was firm; finally, she had heard enough. "It's not as simple as me liking him and him liking me. There's a lot of stuff going on. It's really…complicated. Can we please not talk about it anymore tonight?"

"Okay," Lily said, resigned. She crawled under the blankets in her own bed, and turned off the lights. She said nothing else, but Hermione could almost feel her still thinking about it.

"Thank you," Hermione said, rolling over on her side and staring into the darkness around her. It took some time, but she finally got her eyes to close. She would sleep, and she could escape all the unsettling and confusing thoughts that annoyed her while she was awake.

But Hermione was wrong—even in sleep, a young, teenage Remus Lupin, as well as an older Professor Lupin, all haunted her dreams.

* * *

**COMING NEXT TIME!**

Future stuff, yeah? Oh, and more Hagrid! YAY! But more importantly than _that_, there's also a very interesting flashback… :)

* * *

**SHOUT-OUTS!**

Only two reviews last chapter. That made me sad: more for this chapter, perhaps? —is not being a review whore—

**Silverstagbeauty: **Wait no more, mellon-nin! I hope you found this chapter to your liking. Talk to you more later, yeah? Thanks for all your faithful reviewing-ness!

**Totally CRAZY and Hyper:** I feel exactly like your penname right now. I'm so bouncy. I want to DO something, man! I love Moony. He's so amazing. And he and Hermione are a lot a like, yeah? But, sadly, something like this would only be possible in fanfiction. In the books, I would never support this ship. I'm rather a fan of RHr. But in the wonderful of fanfiction…GO MOONY AND HERMIONE! Thanks so oodles for your noodles…er, I mean, reviews…yeah, reviews… :p

**Next Update: **I'm afraid to give an exact day for fear of not updating on that day (again). So I'm just going to say that it will DEFINITELY be sometime next week! Most likely Monday. But again, don't want to be a liar. So is possible is not. :)


	12. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer:** —enter here—

**Author's Note:** I don't even know how long it's been. I can't even remember when I said I was going to next update... It's summertime, and I lose track of the days of the week quite easily! That and the amazing band McFly have turned my brain until goop and that makes it hard to think of anything else but them! Haha!

Anyway, as conseqeunce of the spazz summer schedule, I'm afraid updates might start being more random; but they will NOT STOP! Worry you not about that, mellon-nins.

-xXx-

In the present day, Hagrid burst into Dumbledore's office, jerking open the door with such a force that it threatened to be pulled clear off it's hinges_. "Dumbledore_!" he cried as he nearly tripped over his own feet; for one terrifying moment the huge burly frame of Rubeus Hagrid nearly topple over.

Something, obviously, was very wrong.

"Hagrid?" the elderly headmaster asked, standing to his feet and looking concerned for his old friend's frenzied state. He only looked mildly startled by the sudden entrance and managed to keep his voice level when he asked, "what is it?"

"Yeh tell me," the half-giant said, seeming to regain some of his composure as he stared long and hard at Dumbledore. "Where's Hermione? Wha' happened ter 'er?"

Dumbledore's expression relaxed, looking almost amused. He seemed to be hiding a smile as he sat back down. "So, you've remembered her also?"

Hagrid only nodded. "Wha' happened ter 'er?" he repeated, looking truly miserable. He took a seat across from Dumbledore, and it was remarkable the tiny chair didn't break under the strain of his weight.

"There was an accident with her Time Turner," Dumbledore replied; "she's stuck at Hogwarts some twenty years ago, at the same time James Potter and the others attended. Remus Lupin remembers her rather…" Dumbledore's smooth, nonchalant manner hardly wavered, "…clearly."

"I saw 's much," Hagrid agreed, understanding immediately what Dumbledore had not said but meant. "She seemed to be close to 'em, quite comfortable there. 'Specially with one Remus Lupin."

"So I suspected," Dumbledore merely stated.

"It makes sense though, if yeh think 'bout it," Hagrid said understandingly. "Hermione's a sweet girl, real nice. And Lupin never did 'ave many friends except fer those three boys. They have a lot common, what wif their books 'nd their smarts. It's no shock it happened."

"No," Dumbledore agreed. "But it complicates things."

There was a short silence before Hagrid spoke again, on a slightly different, though no less urgent, matter: "Wha' are we goin' ter do?" he asked desperately, "how are we goin' ter get 'er back?"

"I don't know." Dumbledore sighed. It was not often he was faced with a problem he could not fix. "We've already tried once; Professor Lupin went back to try and retrieve her, but failed. As for what we should do next, I have no idea."

Hagrid lowered his gaze, miserable for the predicament in which Hermione was in, helpless to get to her and bring her back.

Before anything else could be said, a knock came at the door. Hagrid looked up from the floor in time to see Professor Lupin walked through the door, looking as always his disheveled self. His grey eyes were worried.

"Headmaster," he said, staring into the blue eyes of Albus Dumbledore. "There are more memories. Hermione…" He trailed off and swallowed before trying again. "I remember a conversation we had with her…James asked her what the future was like."

"Do you remember what she told them?" For once, something seemed to have gotten through Dumbledore's outwardly calm appearance. He stood up to better fix the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher with a desperate stare; his tone visibly anxious. "What did she say, Remus?"

"Little things," Lupin responded, closing his eyes to better recall the memories. "She was reluctant to share anything with us… She mentioned Harry to James. And said that I would be a prefect and later a teacher."

Hagrid breathed a loud sigh of relief. "That's all right then?" he said hesitantly, as if asking a question; "at least she didn't say anything about…" He trailed off, his meaning still very clear.

"I don't think…" Lupin paused for a moment, and then said, "She told Sirius to 'be careful who you trust'. None of us understood at the time, though."

Dumbledore sat back down again, and closed his own eyes. "This is getting to be very serious," he said as if this weren't already very obviously to the other men in the room. As far as he could tell, no harm had been done this time. But what if they asked her again? Hermione was a smart girl; she had a good head on her shoulders. She knew the consequences of saying too much, of possibly changing the future… but still, accidents happened… She could slip up and say something, and without meaning to…

"We have to get her back," the headmaster said, again stating the obvious. He opened his eyes to meet the gazes of Hagrid and Lupin. "Soon. Today, before something happens."

He stood up and opened the drawer where he kept the only Time Turner. "I'll go back myself and find her," he said, pulling the thin chain and dial out and cradling it in his hands. "I'm beginning to think it's the only way."

"No, Dumbledore." Lupin took a step forward, holding out a hand as if to stop the headmaster. "I can do it. Let me go."

Albus Dumbledore only raised an eyebrow, silently reminding Remus Lupin of his last attempt.

Lupin sighed, and ran a hand through his disheveled, graying hair. "I _can _bring her back," he said, "let me try one more time, and I'll bring Hermione back." He met Dumbledore's gaze without hesitancy this time. He tried to make the headmaster understand that there were so many reasons he had to go, he had to be the one to bring her back. "I have to do this, Dumbledore," Lupin said.

Slowly, but not looking at all unwilling, Dumbledore leaned over his desk and handed the Time Turner to his fellow professor. Hagrid watched Lupin put the thin, gold chain around his neck, not all surprised that Dumbledore was trusting him to try again and succeed. The old headmaster was good at giving second chances.

Hagrid waited until Lupin had turned and left the room, off to find a secluded place away from the castle to try again, before looking at Dumbledore and giving him a grin. "Don' worry, Dumbledore," he said, pointlessly, "Lupin'll get Hermione back."

-xXx-

Remus Lupin was surprisingly calm when he walked outside into the spring sunshine; he stopped in front of a tree and a nice ways off from the main entrance to the school, but not _insanely _far away. He was careful not to think about anything; he kept his mind blank and numb, and that's why he was calm.

Lupin paused a moment to stare at the Time Turner around his neck, still carefully avoiding anything like thought. He did everything with deliberate slowness and concentration, focusing on that instead. _And_ _here we go again…_ He closed his eyes, clutched the Turner in his hand, took a deep breath, and just before he turned the dial, he was hit with a memory so suddenly it could have been thrown at him.

_He had stolen away from the others that night for some peace and quiet; he'd come out here on the grounds so he could feel the cold wind on his face and see his breath in the air in front of him. It was freezing, but it wasn't enough to make him go back inside._

_The full moon was only a night or two away. He saw the offending moon up in the sky now, shining proudly in the dark night sky, and he knew by this time tomorrow he would be once again suffering through another long, endless night, enduring the transformation from man to beast._

_"Remus?" Hermione's voice floated over to him on a particularly strong gust of wind. Had she seen him walk out and decided to follow him, or was it just coincidence that brought her here? He didn't think on it any, just turned to greet her with a smile._

_"Hey," he said, "Happy Christmas Eve."_

_"Happy Christmas Eve." She smiled and crossed her arms against the cold. "What're you doing?" she asked, following the direction of his gaze to stare at the moon._

_"Nothing. I just like to come out here sometimes."_

_She hummed thoughtfully, interested in what he was saying, but having no words to continue their conversation. They stood together in silence for a moment longer, looking up at the moon, until she finally said, "it's silly, and entirely illogical, I know…but I can't help but look at the moon and think my friends are seeing—some twenty years from now—the same moon. At least," she added, quieter, "I hope they are."_

_She turned to him to look at him, her lips wearing a sad sort of smile. Remus wanted to do something to make her feel better, so he said, "you'll see them again, Hermione. Dumbledore with think of a way to get you home."_

But I don't want you to go,_ he added silently to himself. It would be wonderful for Hermione to get back to her own Time, and he knew that was the way it should be…but there was a part of him that wanted very much for Hermione to stay. He was beginning to like her quite a bit; she was his friend, and he would miss her when she left._

_Hermione took his hand and squeezed it gently, silently thanking him for his words of encouragement. Remus knew that she considered him her friend just as he did her, and maybe that meant that perhaps a small part of her would be sorry to go as well._

_She hadn't released Remus' hand yet, and that seemed to be the opening, a permission of sorts. He leaned closer to her, and she didn't shy away; she may have even moved towards him. For the briefest of seconds their lips met, but only slightly; the kiss was hesitant, light, and abrupt. As quickly as it had happened, it ended; Remus pulled away in embarrassment, and Hermione turned around, the darkness hiding her flaming face._

_"I'm…um…uh…eh…" Sounds and mutters with no actual words came pouring out of Remus' mouth as if he were trying to keep an uncomfortable silence from falling over the two of them. But talking only made it more awkward. Slowly, he looked back up to look at her; their eyes locked for a minute, long enough for each to see the other wasn't angry at the recent turn of events—only embarrassed._

_Then Hermione muttered something about them needing to get back inside, and he hastily agreed. They walked—jogged, more like—back to the castle and their dorms, having no actual conversation but instead just babbling on pointlessly in a vain attempt to appear casual. They parted ways quickly in the common room, saying to each other, with a touch of anxiety or (something close to it), "G' night—and, er, Happy Christmas..."_

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Shout-outs could not be completed for this chapter due to the utter stupidity of my brain during summer and my desire to post this chapter TODAY and not make you wait longer (incredibly busy two weeks). Just like the time my internet died, I will reply to all the reviews for the last chapter and any for this chapter, in the chapter eleven update. CHEERS, MATES!


	13. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer:** Yeah, yeah, I know…

**Author's Note:** GAH! Only one chapter and epilogue left after this! WOAH BABY! I've entertained thoughts of a sequel, even wrote the first couple chapters. Maybe it'll survive, who knows? But let's finish this one first...

* * *

**Chapter Twelve**

The second time Remus Lupin went back in Time, he was still filled with that same mind-boggling wonder; apparently, already being back in the Time of his childhood didn't prepare him for the curious sensation of knowing even as he stood here outside, he was also inside the castle somewhere, celebrating Christmas…

It was so weird to think about; a moment ago, he had been surrounded by green grass and warm breezes; now there was only snow and cold, and to top it off, it was Christmas day!

Lupin tried to concentrate on his task at hand: find Hermione, bring her back. He wouldn't think about his latest memory; he wouldn't realize that it was only last night it happened; and he wouldn't remember all the questions and the cocktail of emotions—fear, embarrassment, excitement, delight, nervousness, regret—following the event that had kept him up all that night….

No! This wasn't working; the more he tried _not_ to remember it, the more he did. He couldn't just stand here doing nothing…he had to start walking, and once he got moving and concentrated on finding Hermione, he wouldn't be able to think about that kiss anymore.

But where he should look? It was Christmas day; so where would they all be? Would Hermione still be with him and the others after what had hap—oh, God, there he went again, thinking about what he wasn't thinking about.

Lupin wagged his head back and forth, as if trying to shake out that thought. He didn't know what time it was, but it didn't seem to be early in the morning—so they wouldn't be in the dorm anymore, which was good. There would have been no way he would have been able to get in _there_.

It would be about the time of the feast, Lupin decided; the students would either be in there now, finishing dessert, or else it would have just ended, and they would be going their separate ways…some of them, then, would be coming outside to play in the snow…

_There!_ For once in the entire course of this Time Traveling fiasco, it would seem that Luck had finally offered some of itself to Remus Lupin—the Marauders, and Hermione, were coming out of Hogwarts now, smiling widely in the joys of Christmas spirit.

They were far enough away Lupin didn't think that they would notice him, but just in case he pressed himself up against the tree he stood by, vainly trying to hide behind it. He listened and watched, waiting for the perfect moment to get Hermione's attention without getting any of the others.

He wished he could hear what they were saying…

-xXx-

Hermione wanted to scream.

She wanted to scream at the top of her lungs for as long as she could; she wanted to march right over to Remus Lupin, grab him by the shoulders, and shake him back and forth and shout in his face, _look at me, you silly boy! Talk to me! Stop avoiding my gaze and pretending I'm not here! Stop being shy and embarrassed and look at me!_

But she didn't.

She just took a deep breath and calmed herself down. If Remus wanted to play this game, then she could as well. She could ignore him just as pointedly as he was ignoring her. But that was just it—she _could_ ignore him, but she didn't _want_ to.

Stupid boy! He was going to ruin her Christmas.

Hermione almost smiled at that; surely, if she told him that he was ruining her day he would stop treating her like they didn't know each other and they could be friends again? But no, Hermione thought if she told him that he was making her feel bad he would probably be very, very sorry, and be even more embarrassed.

So she was back where she started, then. Frustrated and annoyed, and fighting the urge to scream at the silly boy. She needed to talk to him; she couldn't stand this awkward silent treatment. She wanted to be his friend again. But when would she next be able to talk to him alone?

"Hello? Earth to Hermione! Will you be joining us on planet Earth today, mate?" Sirius asked, purposely talking extra loud to get the young witch's attention. He waved a hand in front of her face. "Come on in, Hermione," he said even louder.

She started out of her thoughts and met his gaze with a smile. "Sorry. I was thinking."

"Uh-oh!" James said, dropping the snowball in his hand and bounding over to them instead. "That's never good. You shouldn't think so hard, Hermione, you're supposed to be having fun today!"

"I know. I guess I just have a lot on my mind." She peered over James' shoulder to lock eyes with Remus. He had been looking at her, but when he saw that she was watching him watch her, he blushed and looked away. Hermione silently screamed.

"Hmm." Neither James nor Sirius asked her what was wrong; either they didn't care, or thought that it wasn't any of their business. It didn't matter to Hermione what kept them from inquiring after her, she was just relieved they didn't.

"Well, Hermione, I think you need to stop thinking," Sirius said smartly. "Come over here and join our snowball fight. You can be on my team." He grabbed her arm and she followed after him.

Hermione laughed. "Okay," she agreed, trying to act like she hadn't noticed Remus' alarmed expression when they said she would be playing as well. For a second he looked like he might quit the game, but he just sighed and stayed silent.

She clenched her teeth at his attitude. _I really don't understand boys,_ she thought bitterly. If he was feeling weird about kissing her, why didn't he just talk to her?

"Oh!" Hermione jumped when a snowball hit her in the face. She brushed it off with her gloved hand and gave James a mock glare as he laughed at her and shouted, "should've been paying attention!"

She scooped up a bunch of snow and made her two snowballs of her own; she hurled one at James, and to her surprise her aim wasn't as terrible as she'd have thought it would be. But he was already well aware of her attack, and had time to dodge it; instead, it hit Remus right in the face, as he looked to be paying as much attention as she was to the game.

Hermione brought her hands to her mouth to stifle her laughter at his shocked expression. "Sorry!" she called to him, though she didn't sound very sincere; she couldn't help but giggle.

Remus looked up at her once, but that was it. He dropped his head and stared at his feet, and immediately Hermione's humour disappeared. Deciding she'd finally had enough, she handed the second snowball in her hand to Peter and marched determinedly over to him. She stopped right in front of him, and if she had been the type to, would have put her hands on her hips.

"Are you ever going to talk to me again?" she asked, trying to keep her voice level and calm; she didn't want any of her frustration to leak out; nor did she want to show him how much her feelings were hurt. After all, what right did he have to avoid her? _He _kissed _her_!

After what seemed like forever, Remus finally did look at her. He offered her a weak smile so that she would know he didn't hate her. "I'm sorry," he said.

"Don't be."

It didn't matter to Hermione if he was talking about the kiss or his attitude, because her answer would be the same no matter what; she didn't want to fight with him—so she would forgive him if he was apologizing for not speaking to her. And if he was apologizing for the kiss… Well, Hermione didn't want him to be sorry about that either, because in her opinion there really wasn't anything to be sorry for.

"So we can be friends again? I don't want us to not be talking," she said.

"Me neither," he agreed. "I really like you, Hermione."

"I like you too, Remus." He smiled at her, and didn't look away from her gaze anymore; that's when Hermione knew it would be okay again.

Suddenly, he laughed. "Come on, we have a snowball fight to win!"

-xXx-

The adult Remus Lupin had no idea how long he waited, watching Hermione and the others in their snowball fight and other games. All he knew was that he was getting really, really cold, and that he was incredibly tired of standing here.

But eventually, the Marauders and their female friend did get cold enough to head back inside to warm themselves by the fire, and Lupin saw his—perhaps only—chance. He headed after them, jogging to reach them before they reached the school's doors.

Hermione walked in the back in the group beside his younger self, laughing and smiling; Lupin couldn't resist a small smile at the memory of them getting over their embarrassment and talking again. But he couldn't dwell on it long; acting on his first idea, and thinking that it was probably better than calling out, the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher made a snowball and threw it at his student's head.

She stopped walking and looked behind her, surprised. His younger self stopped as well, wondering why in the world she had stopped.

"What's wrong, Hermione?"

She looked confused. "I…I could have sworn that…" Suddenly, she caught sight of him and her mouth dropped open. He was hiding half behind a tree, hoping to go unnoticed by himself. "Hey, Remus, do you mind giving me a second alone? I'll be inside in a minute, okay?"

She tore her eyes away from the oldest Lupin to smile at the younger one. He looked like he wanted to ask why, but instead just shrugged and promised to catch up with her later. When he had gone, following after his friends and disappearing inside the school building, Hermione ran up over to the tree, her face an expression of shock and delight.

"Remus!" She shouted, and suddenly stopped short a few feet away from him. "I mean—Professor Lupin." She smiled again, but it was more guarded this time.

"I've got a Time Turner," Lupin told her quickly, wasting no time at all; "we can get you home now." He determinedly ignored the growing awkwardness between them that had started when she called him 'Professor' and they were both suddenly reminded that while they were friends, they were also teacher and student.

"Oh, that's great!" Hermione said sincerely.

"Go tell Dumbledore," Lupin instructed. "Just so he knows that the problem is solved and you'll be all right."

"You're not coming with me?"

"No, it's best if I'm not seen. Go straight to Dumbledore and get your things, if you have any. Then come straight back, Hermione," he stressed, "we need to get back home as soon as possible."

"Okay," she said, already turning away. "I'll be back in a minute."

"Hurry, please, Hermione," Lupin called after her, "I'm freezing out here!"

-xXx-

Hermione did as Lupin instructed; she went straight to Dumbledore's office and told him that someone from her Time had gotten a Time Turner and was going to take her home. He smiled, delighted, and wished her well. Then Hermione had gone to the Gryffindor dorms and collected her bag and wand—wishing with all her heart she would see any one of her friends so that she could tell them good-bye, but she saw no one; and she knew she didn't have time to look for them.

Finally, she returned back to the tree where Lupin waited with the Time Turner that would take her home, and she was torn between wanting to laugh in delight and cry in despair. She wanted so badly to go home: she would finally get to see Ron and Harry and all of the others again! But she also knew she would never see any of the people from this time—Remus, Sirius, James, Lily—as they were now, teenagers, ever again; and she would miss them all dearly.

Lupin saw her expression and offered her a sympathetic smile. Hermione realized with a start he probably remembered everything that had gone on between them. She felt herself blush, and couldn't bring herself to look him in the eye again—she felt like he must have felt before she'd made him talk to her earlier.

"Are you ready?" he asked her. "You have everything?"

"Yes," she said. "Yes, I'm ready." She didn't dare look at him, however.

"Okay, let's go." He put the Time Turner around them both, but before he turned the dial Hermione summoned up her courage and stopped him. She had to be sure of something.

"Wait," she said. "When we go back to the present, will I remember everything that happened here with me in the past? Will—will everyone who has these memories still have them?" By that, she meant him—would he remember her? But she didn't dare ask it outright.

Lupin thought about it a moment. "I don't know, Hermione," he answered truthfully. He smiled at her and, though Hermione still felt awkward, some of the familiar, comfortable feelings returned between them and she smiled back. Silently, she wished that she would be able to remember everything about the past, everyone here, and all that had happened.

Meeting Lupin's gaze as he turned the dial, Hermione could see that he was wishing the very same thing.

* * *

**Shout-outs! (for chapters ten and eleven)**

**Totally CRAZY and Hyper: **Yeah, that kiss did make it sort of awkward didn't it? I hold firm to the belief it was all because of Remus and obsessive shy-ness. He's adorable. :) Cheers for all your reviews, mate. Keep it up!

**Lady Zymurgy:** I can see what you're saying about "destined to be together" couples. Sorry it didn't work out for you, but yay that you're marrying the man you're really supposed to be with! One a more HP like note, cheers for your reviews! All your support means so much to me. :)

**Spunkygirl517**: Thank you for reviewing!

**Kari Minamoto**: I'm afraid I can't answer your questions, I'm not entirely sure when the Maruaders wrote their map! But thanks for your reviewing anyway!

**MoonNightLover**: Ahh, no worries, mate. At least you reviewed that chapter! Hope you're still enjoying the story.

**Darkest Ink**: I know, right? The Mauraders are amazing! I love them! Cheers for your review!

**Trazzle**: Oh, thank you so much for your kinds words! I hope the rather lengthy updates didn't scare you away. I'm glad you enjoyed the story thus far -I do try to keep it as true to the books as I can. And I love Snape and Lily, so of course that had to be thrown in there!

**AK-tiger**: Hey, cheers! I'm glad you're liking it so far! Almost to the end of now, though! :( :)

**Airia Rain**: Ah, yes, I do so love Lupin! He's amazing. Sorry I didn't check out your prologue; I've been way busy with some church things and then was on vacation all last week and just got back tonight. But I'm glad you've kept up with the story! Keep reviewing! Cheers!

**LuvtoWrite**: Yeah, the days are all jumbled together in the summer time. Hope this chapter pleased you! Thanks for all your supportive reviews, they're wonderful!

**silverstagbeauty**: Ehh, maybe that last chapter wasn't my best. Hopefully this one is up to par? Anyroad, I'm glad you like the fic. Cheers again.

* * *

Whew! Quite a few reviews, I love it. Not going to mention it's two chapters combined. Haha! :) Keep it up my fabulous friends and readers; the next update will be coming your way shortly!


	14. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer**: BAH!

**Author's Note:** Was I painfully obvious in trying to delay the inevitable? This story seems to have flown by so quickly. I mean, there's only the epilogue left. Grr.

* * *

**Chapter Thirteen**

Hermione had shut her eyes tight. She didn't know why, exactly, she felt like she couldn't look around her as she went forward in Time, she just knew she couldn't. So she kept her eyes closed and stared at the blacks of her eyelids, marveling at the fact that without being able to see her surroundings spin, it felt like she was just standing still and not really Time Traveling at all.

Her illusion of not really moving worked so well that she didn't even notice when they had actually reached their destination in Time. She remained still, eyes shut, until she felt a tap on her shoulder and an amused Lupin saying, "Hermione, we're here."

The young witch's eyes flew open and she laughed in delight at the familiar surroundings around her. "Oh my gosh!" she shouted. "I'm home, I can't believe it, I'm home!" She laughed again and, in a sudden surge of happiness, she flung her arms around the man in front of her.

Professor Lupin hugged her back at first, and then, quite as suddenly as it had happened, they flew apart. Hermione looked to the ground, embarrassed. "Sorry," she mumbled.

"No," Lupin said, shaking his head. "It's no big deal at all." He paused a minute and then, with a small smile that pleasantly reminded Hermione of Remus the boy, he said: "Thirty two times, cover to cover, eh?"

Hermione's face broke out into a grin. "Yes," she replied, her delight immeasurable. She understood what he was saying with those words—he remembered her from his youth. "Thirty two times," she repeated, smiling.

Lupin laughed. "Come on," he said, "let's get you to Dumbledore's office. I know two very worried boys that will be delighted to see you."

If she had been the type to, Hermione would have squealed. Soon, very soon, she would see Ron and Harry again!

-xXx-

Dumbledore had remembered her leaving. That much was obvious immediately, because there seemed to be a welcoming home party assembled in his office when Hermione and Professor Lupin arrived. Hagrid was there, looking close to tears, Professor Snape was there, looking gloomy, and most important of all, Ron and Harry were there, shouting.

"HERMIONE! You're back!" Ron jumped to his feet and stumbled over to her before she had even gotten completely through the doorway.

"Welcome back, Hermione!" Harry said, following right behind Ron to come stand by her. They began both talking at once, a mixture of greetings and shouts and questions and exclamations.

"It's great to see you!"

"We've missed you so much!"

"How've you been?"

"What was it like?"

And before she could even answer, they were hugging her, clapping her on the back, shaking her hand. She threw her arms around Ron in a huge hug and laughed. "I'm so happy to be back!" she said. She gave Harry a hug next; her cheeks ached from smiling.

"Great ter have yeh back, Hermione," Hagrid said gruffly, his voice watery. He clapped her on the back once so hard she nearly fell. He helped her straighten back up and ended up nearly crushing her in a hug. She laughed again.

Albus Dumbledore stood off from the excited bunch of wizards and their recently returned witch, watching the scene play out with a small smile. Beside him, Severus Snape watched them as well, minus the smile. His lips curved into a frown.

"I assume Miss Granger will be properly punished for her little…mishap," he said, coldly, turning to face the headmaster.

Dumbledore chuckled and shook his head. "Of course not, Severus," he said, "better witches and wizards than Hermione have found themselves in similar situations. You know that."

Snape glowered and, without another word, turned and left the room. Behind him, the office of the headmaster had erupted in fresh cheers; there would be no consequences for Hermione's terrible ordeal. Everything was going to be all right!

It was because of all the celebrations and reunions that no one in the room noticed Professor Remus John Lupin slip away from the crowd and out the door.

-xXx-

So, this was it, then. It was all finally over. Hermione was back in her Time, and she was perfectly fine. No harm done, right? It was okay.

Lupin drew a shaky breath of the cool spring air; he had slipped out Dumbledore's office to come out here to his favourite spot: the bridge overlooking the lake in front of Hogwart's. He needed some time alone to think. He just wasn't sure yet what he was trying to think about…

There was something nagging at the back of his mind; one last little thing about this whole fiasco that he hadn't yet resolved. He could feel it there, on the outskirts of his mind just out of reach. He just didn't know what it was…

And then there was the confusion. Oh, why was this so complicated? He should be relieved, plain and simple. And he was, incredibly so, delighted that Hermione was safe. She was a great girl, one of his best students, and someone he even liked to think of as friend—Hermione, Ron, Harry, all three of them, his friends. But he wasn't going to deny to himself how awkward and embarrassing it had been around her when he'd found her.

Ugh! This was stupid. This was immature. He was a grown man, for Merlin's sake! This whole thing was bringing back certain dramas and complications that he hadn't known since he was a teeanger… Yes, but that was where—or when—the whole thing started, wasn't it? When he was a teenager, growing close to Hermione…

And then it came back to Lupin; that thing that he had been trying to think of but couldn't. It hit him suddenly and forcefully, as if someone had just threw it at him. The very last memory from his youth about Hermione Granger…

_She had said she just needed a minute alone outside. She'd promise she'd be inside soon, and so he had went on without her, ahead into the hall with his friends. He didn't look back. He didn't say good-bye, because he'd thought that he would see her again in just a few minutes. But he had thought wrong._

_Dinner was served and he and the others had feasted as only teenage boys could do—he had saved her a seat, even—but she didn't come back. Then he and the others had went to their common room and chatted and laughed as only best friends could do—but still Hermione never came back._

_He didn't go outside looking for her. He wasn't some obsessed worrier fretting over the possibility she had been hurt. He just had a sinking feeling in the bottom of his stomach he couldn't ignore. So he went to Dumbledore. He didn't say that Hermione was "missing" or that she "hadn't come back". He only asked where she was. Even though he was certain he already knew._

_"She has gone," Dumbledore said simply._

_"Gone?"_

_"Gone home, Remus. Back to her own Time."_

_"Yeah… I thought maybe that was what happened. Thank you, Headmaster," he said, fighting to keep his shoulders from sagging in his disappointment. He excused himself and left quietly, taking the long way back to the Gryffindor common room._

_He had known this would happen eventually. He was expecting it. But he didn't expect it to hurt this bad. It wouldn't have hurt that much at all, really, if for but one thing. It didn't hurt him that she had gone home—it was the right thing. It didn't hurt him that he would never see her again (well, at it didn't hurt much). No, what was killing him was that she had gone so suddenly and unexpectedly, without warning._

_What was killing him was that he had never gotten to say good-bye._

* * *

**_Coming Next Time!_**

The epilogue. Which will be a little happier ending than that. Haha.

* * *

**Shout-Outs!**

**Ml101: **Yes, it is fastly approaching the end. Exciting but sad. :( Thanks for all your reviews, hon. :)

**Ginnylovesharry07: **Well, I'm glad you like it! Hopefully you enjoyed this chapter, yeah? And much thank for your support!

**Totally CRAZY and Hyper: **Yeah the story is ending! I want to thank you again for all your reviews; you've reviewed nearly every chapter haven't you? That means a lot. Cheers, mate. :D

**Lady Zymurgy: **Ugh, I know, right?! Neither of them got to say good-bye. ERGH! Blame the muse, mate; he didn't seem to what to let things go MY way. But then, what do I know? I 'm just a girl that love Remus way too much!

**MoonNightLover: **I agree. It would have been great for Hermione to run into the Maruaders again; a leave like this was far too sudden. Thanks for reviewing!

**Airia Rain: **Aww. It's not that sad, is it? Anyway, cheers for the review!

**GrlWithoutAName: **Hah! Rhetorical question indeed. Poor thing. But I love him!!

**Allison Reeve: **I'm glad you're liking it. Hope you enjoyed this chapter, and cheers for the review. :)

**LuvtoWrite: **AWKWARD! is the word to sum this up, yes. Lol. Poor Hermione. Poor Lupin. It would be really weird, wouldn't it? Yes, I am entertaining thoughts of a sequel. Maybe. Anyroad, much thanks to you for all your support and reviews throughout the story! It really made me feel good, and meant a lot. Cheers, mate!


	15. Epilogue

**Disclaimer**: _You should know by now, you should know by now…that I can't forgive you_…er, I mean, that I don't own Harry Potter. Yeah, let's go with that one.

**Author's Notes:** Oh, the end! Alas! It was fun while it lasted though. No shout-outs at the end this time, all replies with be sent PM style. I just want to thank everyone who's read and supported this story, and hope you enjoy this last bit! SEQUEL? It's possible, but it would be awhile until I finish it (should be about ten chapters long; I've written two), because my muse doesn't seem to want to concentrate on it. Still, though, don't rule it out!

* * *

**Epilogue**

"Knock, knock."

Professor Lupin raised his head and tilted it in the direction of the door. He smiled at his visitor and put down the pile of books in his hands. "Hermione," he said warmly, "come in."

Hermione walked into the room and came to stand by him; she was smiling, but it was hesitant. She looked very thoughtful, Lupin thought, and he knew she had come here for a reason. It had been some days since she had returned back to her Time, and the whole thing had finished; the school year was over and all the students would soon be going home.

"Harry told me you were resigning," Hermione said, her voice unnaturally quiet. She looked all around her and took in the half-packed boxes and all the books and materials thrown around. She wasn't asking a question; Lupin didn't even have to answer her, it was so obvious.

But he nodded anyway. "Yeah," he said, "I've already told Dumbledore."

It was Hermione's turn to nod. "I'm so sorry," she said, almost miserably. She looked like she wanted to say more, but instead she just began gathering up some of his things and handing them to him, helping him pack up. They were silent for a long time, witch and wizard, each thinking their own thoughts, each wishing things weren't so awkward, each wanting to say things to the other they could not.

"It was because Severus 'let slip' to everyone that I was a werewolf, you know," Lupin blurted out suddenly. He had no idea what had made him say it—but no, that was lie. He did know why he said it. He was taking a guess as to what Hermione was thinking, and he wanted to offer up some sort of excuse to her so he could see that it wasn't her fault.

"Yes," Hermione answered, "I heard about that. Some parents will have a problem with an 'animal' teaching their students, right?" She smiled wryly and he could see that she still didn't think that was why he was really leaving.

"It's my fault, isn't it?" she said after a moment. "Because of me going back in Time. Because of what…happened."

Lupin shook his head furiously, denying it for all he was worth. It hurt to even know that she was thinking that. "No," he said, as firmly as he could. "No, of course not. Don't blame yourself." He wanted to look her in the eyes and say 'it has absolutely nothing at all do with you', but even his mind those words sounded cold…it would be like telling her she meant nothing to him…

So was he really resigning because everyone would protest to the werewolf teacher? That was part of it, yes, and nice portion of his decision as well. But could there not be more than one reason? Could he not have, somewhere in subconscious, decided that his and Hermione's now-past history would affect their relationship now? That it would be too awkward and that it would just be best if he left?

He didn't know. He didn't want to know.

"I told Harry this," Lupin said to keep himself from following his particular train of thought any further. As soon as he spoke, Hermione looked up at him. "And I'll tell you too. Just because I won't be back next year to as the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, I'll still be around. We'll meet again, you and I, and all the others. It's far from over."

Hermione smiled a little at that. She looked like maybe she felt comforted by his words; at least, Lupin thought, she would not feel so guilty anymore. She came closer to him and wrapped her arms around his neck in one last hug.

"We're still going to be friends?" she asked.

Lupin didn't allow himself time to hesitate hugging her back. "Always," he promised. And it was true. His resignation was not good-bye. Impulsively, he kissed the top of her head (the nearest part of her since they were locked in an embrace).

Her hug tightened in response, and she didn't let go for a long time. Lupin realized with a jolt that she was probably crying, and he wasn't sure what he should do—once again, as with anything else involving her, he felt like an inexperienced, under-confident thirteen-year old. But as it turned out, he didn't have to say anything at all. Hermione spoke first, saying quietly their small inside joke:

"Thirty two times."

Lupin smiled. "Cover to cover."


End file.
